A Gambo couple, on their way to their daughter’s wedding in Labrador West, are lucky to be alive after the pick up they were in ended up in a surging torrent when the highway beneath them collapsed.

The incident happened just south of the Churchill River near Happy Valley-Goose Bay.

Rhoda Lane and her husband Gary suffered broken bones when the culvert and pavement gave way due to flash flooding from heavy rain in the area. She says the truck flipped up in the air, with the two front tires hanging precariously from the remaining pavement (above).

Lane suffered a broken arm and her husband Gary remains in hospital with chest injuries.

The couple managed to climb out of the truck and then had to walk, cold and wet, for five and a half hours before their “Good Samaritan”- a lone driver who picked them up – arrived.

She tells VOCM News they’re both determined to attend their daughter’s wedding this Saturday, despite their ordeal.

Surgery on her arm is scheduled for next week to allow her to attend the wedding.

Meanwhile, officials are working to repair the washed out section of the Trans Labrador Highway and hope to have the road reopened in the coming days.

In the meantime, helicopter service is available starting tomorrow for stranded travelers.

Freight is also being arranged through Labrador Marine.