Two anglers left stranded on an ice floe headed over open water toward Lake Ontario were pulled to safety in a dramatic rescue by helicopter Wednesday.
Emergency crews were originally called in to help four men who ended up stuck on a chunk of ice that officials say had broken off from the shores of Wellers Bay, in the Consecon, Ont., area, around 5 p.m.
The men were fishing nearly a kilometre away from the shore when the ice they were standing on broke off at a pressure crack and winds pushed the large ice floe out toward the lake, police and fire officials said Thursday.
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Two of the men were rescued by boat, but a helicopter from 424 Search and Rescue Squadron at CFB Trenton was called in to help pull the two remaining men off the ice floe as it headed farther from the shore.
All four men survived, but officials provided no update on their condition Thursday.
OPP say this is the third call for help from people needing rescue after falling through the ice in eastern Ontario in less than a week.
It comes after two men died after falling through ice on Charleston Lake, northeast of Kingston, Feb. 11.
Police are continuing to remind people to stay off the ice, especially as the weather warms up.
“Ice does not form at uniform thickness on a body of water. It may look safe, but may not be thick, strong or stable enough to support a person’s weight,” OPP said in a release Thursday.
“This week’s mild weather will make the ice even less stable. Children should not play near or on ice covered bodies of water or even cold or fast flowing water.”
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