REVELSTOKE – Revelstoke RCMP are crediting two young Kelowna men for their quick reaction that likely prevented a serious tragedy following an accident just after noon Monday near the 3 Valley Gap resort located on the Trans-Canada Highway 19 kilometres east of Revelstoke.

Long-time friends Matthew Jackson and Tyler Lockerby, both 19, were travelling eastbound from Kelowna in a work truck en route to a job in Revelstoke.

They had just entered the Griffin Lake area when a minivan two cars in front of them lost control, swerved to one side, hit a sign then a highway barrier and rolled. The minivan then careened across the oncoming lane, down an embankment and into the icy waters of Griffin Lake.

Lockerby say the minivan sank "quick" since the windows were smashed out, eventually coming to rest completely underwater about four metres from shore.

Jackson and Lockerby say they had little time to think. They just reacted.

Jackson kicked off his sandals and plunged into the water. He could see arms reaching frantically out of the driver's side window and he pulled the first person out, swam the man back a few feet and handed him off to Lockerby, who took him to shore.

They repeated the process, swimming through gasoline fumes to pull two more women out of the car and swam them to safety.

They young men say the passengers were in shock, saying things like 'I need oxygen,' and 'God save me.'

It wasn't until they were all back at shore that one of the passengers managed to tell them there was a fourth passenger in the back of the van.

Jackson and Lockerby immediately plunged back into the lake, dove underwater and managed to pull the fourth trapped passenger through a smashed and crumpled window of the van.

Once back to shore, others were on scene assisting them, covering the victims with blankets and providing first aid.

Making the rescue more dramatic was the fact that two of the passengers were elderly, and Lockerby and Jackson believe that the two other passengers were disabled.

We talked with Jackson and Lockerby the next day when we located them in the mechanical room of the Revelstoke Forum where they were performing regular maintenance on the ice rink's refrigeration unit. Friends since they were kids, they are both refrigeration mechanics and are employed by Lockerby's father's company, Norlock Refrigeration.

The soft-spoken young men had a large mechanical unit pulled apart and their forearms were smeared with oil from the job.

The incident happened on Lockerby's 19th birthday. He says the point of the story is that it all worked out well in the end. "We did everything that we could," he says. "I'm just glad they are OK."

All four occupants of the vehicle are currently reported to be in stable condition. Two remain in Queen Victoria Hospital in Revelstoke, while the other two were later transported to Royal Inland Hospital in Kamloops.

Lockerby and Jackson said they had called the hospital in the morning the following day to see how the people who they had rescued were doing, and understand they are doing well enough, other than a broken arm and other injuries from the crash.

When asked if they thought the occupants could have got out on their own, they said they doubted it -- maybe the driver only.

For his part, Jackson says he is glad they were there, and that they are both strong swimmers. "It's really up to fate what could have happened," he said.