It was a late night rescue from the frigid waters of the Red River.
On Saturday, Winnipeg police received a call about a woman screaming for help from the banks of the river in St. Norbert.
Immediately, Air1 was rerouted to help search for the woman, who was found around 10:20 p.m. clinging to a tree branch in the water.
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Winnipeg Police released video of the dramatic video Tuesday morning.
A team of nearly a dozen rescue workers and the Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service Water Rescue team quickly moved to save the woman.
“She was loosing her grip right before water rescue was able to get to her,” Const. Rob Carver said. “She was hanging onto a tree that’s submerged just at the ice at the edge of open water. She’s actually in open water.”
VIEW: images of the water rescue as it happened, plus daylight images of the area
The two-minute video shows a rescue team launching a boat, safely plucking the woman from the tree and transporting her to the river bank.
“Don’t move alright. We’re coming,” a WPS street supervisor can be heard saying just off camera. “You’re just cold I know. We’ve got water rescue coming. You’ll be warmed up soon.”
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The bank on the side was about 30 feet in height according to police.
It took just over 40 minutes to complete the rescue.
“We warn people about the dangers of thin ice and spring breakup and often situations like this end in a tragedy,” Const. Carver said. “Luckily that was not the case.”
It’s unclear what led to the woman, whose name has not been released, getting caught in the water.
“She may have tried to cross the river, not knowing there was open water, and then tried to go back,” Const. Carver said. “We know she was in the water at one point.”
Police said the woman was sent to hospital for assessment.
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