It started as a day of ice fishing. Almost two dozen men, women and children in several groups headed out onto the ice on Sunday by Georgian Bay, north of Toronto and across Lake Huron from Michigan, in search of salmon and trout.
But after a few hours, a fisherman happened to check his GPS. He wasn’t in the same place anymore.
The ice was moving.
“The whole ice section separated from the shelf and went up to two kilometers away pretty quickly,” said Provincial Constable Craig Soldan of the Ontario Provincial Police.
Now out into the lake, the ice, several football fields long and wide, started to separate, because it was more exposed to the wind. That wind was also blowing the ice and the people on it farther away.
“The ice broke into several sections,” Constable Soldan said. “Some people were able to stay on the ice and await rescue, but others fell right in and were clinging to slushy pieces of floating ice.”
Kevin Fox, one of the fishermen, recounted the ordeal on social media: “I turned around and saw waves forming behind us. That’s when it hit me. The ice had broken off, and we were drifting out into Georgian Bay.”
“We decided to run toward one side of the bay, but when we got there, the ice had already separated from shore,” he continued. “We turned and ran the other way, but the ice there was breaking apart too.
“Three guys tried to make it to shore but ended up stuck on a small piece of ice, and eventually in the water. That’s when the reality of the situation really set in. We honestly thought we were doomed. Some of the guys started making final phone calls to their families.”
But two police helicopters arrived and lifted each of the 23 stranded people to safety, starting with the ones in the water. The process took about two hours.
The only injuries were hypothermia, Constable Soldan said. “Everyone is expected to make a full recovery.”
The episode reinforced the point that as temperatures rise at this time of year, ice can become unstable. The temperature had risen sharply in the area in recent days.
“What looks stable to you probably is not,” Constable Soldan said.
He reiterated a common rescue mantra at this time of year: “No ice is safe ice.”
Victor Mather, who has been a reporter and editor at The Times for 25 years, covers sports and breaking news.
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