A heart-stopping moment on the South Saskatchewan River as a man fell through the ice and into the icy waters on Thursday afternoon.
Remarkably, the man in his 20s was able to pull himself out within a split second of going in near the University Bridge. His accident and the emergency response by first responders all caught on camera from Global Saskatoon’s tower cam.
READ MORE: Man falls through ice walking along river in Saskatoon
One rescue engine on the ground, another rescue craft on the water – both at the ready in case the man couldn’t get out and was swept away.
“I think he’s very lucky,” Rob Hogan, acting assistant chief of communications with the Saskatoon Fire Department, said.
“If our individual wouldn’t have been there and the person was unable to get out of the water or off the ice flow, hypothermia can set in very quickly.”
The man was helped to safety by a firefighter tethered to the shoreline and he was then treated for hypothermia. Fire officials said, at the time of the incident, the man was alone and there’s still no answer as to why he was on the ice.
“The ice in any location can vary from feet to inches in the exact same area,” Hogan said.
“The reason is because the current flows and it draws the ice along with it and wears it down.”
READ MORE: Calgary ice canoe team plunges into training on the Bow River
The river is as dangerous as it is beautiful. According to Hogan, if you ever fall in during the dead of winter, the water wicks heat away from the body 25 times faster than air.
“What happens is hypothermia sets in really quick, you start to lose your manual dexterity,” Hogan added.
“You can’t bend your arms and legs and operate your fingers so you essentially die of hypothermia or could die of hypothermia so it’s very dangerous in the winter time and happens very, very fast.”
Not only did the man put his own safety at risk, Hogan said say these types of calls are extremely dangerous for fire crews having to respond to them.
“Any drowning individual is a very dangerous person.”
“So crews have to take extra precautions, they’re out there in same conditions as that person and of course they’re trying to be safe and wear safety equipment but it is very dangerous for them as well.”
In 2015, the fire department performed 54 water rescues and of those, nine were ice rescues. Last year, those numbers climbed to 65 rescues, 24 were during the wintertime. There have been two ice rescues so far this year.
“I don’t know what drives people to go down onto the ice, it’s very dangerous so we urge people to stay off the ice in the wintertime and stay well back on the shore.”
Anyone who sees someone on the ice is also urged to call 911 immediately.
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