The Innu Nation has launched an investigation into why it took so long for a critically burned man to get medical attention earlier in the week.
RCMP officers called for a helicopter on Monday when they reached a severely burned young man who had been engulfed in flames in a tent near the Innu village of Sheshatshiu in central Labrador.
Innu Nation president Daniel Ashini wants to know why a search-and-rescue helicopter was not dispatched to help a burn victim in central Labrador.
(CBC)
While the logistics of dispatching a helicopter were sorted out, police arranged for a boat to take the man, 23, to the nearest place that an ambulance could reach.
By the time the injured man was placed in the ambulance, more than two hours had lapsed, and a helicopter was never put in the air.
Innu Nation president Daniel Ashini said the wait should have never taken so long.
"All one can say is that it's sad … and it's unforgivable," Ashini told CBC News.
"It's a disgrace that there's air search-and-rescue helicopter sitting on the tarmac available for these types of emergencies."
No helicopter requested, search and rescue says
Alain Matteau, a captain with search and rescue in nearby Happy Valley-Goose Bay, said a helicopter could have been on the scene within an hour, but no one called to make the request.
Instead, there appears to have a communications breakdown involving health and search-and-rescue officials.
Eastern Health in St. John's was one of the key agencies responsible for co-ordinating the rescue. Spokeswoman Rosemary Barrington said it would have been against protocol to contact search and rescue crews directly.
"We leave that to Government Air Services, once we give them the information," Barrington said, referring to a provincial government service.
Government Air Services could not be reached for comment.
Barrington said Eastern Health will review how it responded to the emergency call.
Meanwhile, the injured man remains in critical but stable condition.
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