Evacuations ordered as landslide blocks Chilcotin River

A man has been rescued from a landslide along the Chilcotin River, about 100 kilometres southwest of Williams Lake in the B.C. Interior.

Evacuations have also been ordered for the area due to the "immediate risk of flooding," according to officials.

The slide happened overnight, with the rescue taking place Wednesday morning in an area referred to by the Tŝilhqot'in National Government as Nagwentled, also known as Farwell Canyon, which is a destination for hikers, campers and mountain bikers.

The slide was discovered by Ken Ilincki, who operates a nearby ranch with his wife, Deb Ilincki. She told CBC News that when he went out to the site, there was a man calling out from the opposite side of the river, saying he was trapped.

"I guess he had been floating in the river and camping there," she said. "And just by sheer luck, he's — well, he was injured, but how he wasn't buried is surprising. He was just in the right spot, I guess."

(Google Maps)