Walking on thin ice, not worth the risk: expert

WINNIPEG – Ricky Banovich is walking on thin ice, literally.  Our Global News cameras captured Banovich walking across the Red River at the Forks.

“It was a bet, it was a bet,” laughed Banovich.

Not a bet worth taking says the Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service, who have already been called to 17 river rescues this year, six the month of March alone.

“My foot broke through once, it was pretty scary,” said Banovich, “No I’m not going to do that again.”

“Risk takers,” said Gord Bakaluk, with the Fire Paramedic Service, “people with no fear but trust me have fear, you don’t want to go through the ice.”

The melt is happening fast, leaving waterways and ponds that were once safe now too dangerous to walk on.

Every time there’s a river rescue it takes 17 emergency personnel just to respond, many more if they have to make an actual rescue.

“Three or four units, the closest fire engine, a fire rescue and water rescue your going to get a paramedic unit dispatched, a district chief,” said Bakaluk.

While city officials say the ice is not safe, head north of Winnipeg to Lockport, where some say it’s dangerous there too.  But what you will see might surprise you.

“There’s kids, I guess their dad is fishing 75 feet from open water, really?,” said a shocked Stu McKay, with Cats on the Red.

Just meters away from the open current of the Lockport Dam about 40 people including children are fishing on the ice.

“To take vehicles out here, boy that’s just asking for trouble, it really, really is,” said McKay.

McKay makes his living on the Red River and says the ice is 30 inches thick in some place, but can change in an hour.

“They figure there’s lots of ice it’s thick, but not this ice.  This is becoming dangerous ice already,” said McKay.

Tom Turner and his friends are avid fishers and tried driving their trucks on the river but after driving through a foot of water and slush, they quickly turned around.

“We didn’t get very far and we didn’t want to be like these guys and try that out,” said Turner pointing at other trucks on the ice.  When asked why not take the risk? Turner replied, “Because I like my truck.”