Whitehorse police and firefighters rescue women from Miles Canyon

Various first responders were called to Miles Canyon in Whitehorse on Saturday morning to rescue two women who were in the Yukon River.

The RCMP saidin a news release Monday that the womenwent into the water "near the footbridge and appeared to be in distress."

They say the first officer on the scene threw a line down to one of the women who was struggling in the current. The officer attached a life-jacket to the line and sent that down to her.

Two officers then arrived at the scene in a boat and pulled the woman from the water and took her to a nearby boat launch to be assessed by paramedics.

Whitehorse firefighters, also in a boat, found the second woman, who had pulled herself up onto some rocks.

RCMP Insp.Keith MacKinnon said Const. Francis Caronwas the officer who threwthe lifeline to the woman in distress.

"There's no doubt, reading the details, that he saved her life," McKinnon said.

"I think that's important. I think everybody had a strong role to play in this. And knowing the officer, he's very a selfless individual and I'm quite proud of him."

MacKinnon said this is the RCMP's first water rescue in the canyon this summer, butthere have been other calls to river and lakes around Whitehorse.