Twenty-three people were rescued by helicopter crews in Ontario, Canada, after the ice shelf they were standing on broke, sending the group floating into Lake Huron.
Ontario Provincial Police said on social media that the rescue began around noon (16:00 GMT) on Sunday after “winds and current moved the ice shelf away from shore” approximately 2km (1.2 miles).
The rescue involved two helicopters making multiple trips to pluck people off the shelf as it continued to fracture into more pieces in the Owen Sound, about 200km north-west of Toronto.
One member of the group said that he only realised the ice he was fishing on had detached from shore when he noticed that his GPS showed him moving.
Members of the rescued group described harrowing moments, with several of them becoming partially submerged in the cold waters as they sought out the thickest ice on the floe, or sheet.
“I looked at my GPS. We were moving,” fisherman Kevin Fox wrote, identifying himself on Facebook as one of those who were caught up in the incident. “I turned around and saw waves forming behind us.”
He said that he and several others started running towards a route that they hoped still connected to shore.
“We decided to run toward one side of the bay, but when we got there the ice had already separated from shore. We turned and ran the other way, but the ice there was breaking apart too,” he wrote.
Some started phoning their families, said Fox, adding: “It’s something I will never forget – seeing grown men crying while saying goodbye to the people they love.”
Fellow fisherman Alfie How told The Owen Sound Sun Times that they eventually “just sat down as a group and said this could be the end”.
Fox told the paper that the rescue occurred during high wind, and the group was concerned that the helicopters would not be able to fly.
“It was being eroded,” Fox said. “It kept getting smaller, and smaller.”
Police say several members of the group suffered hypothermia, but that everyone was expected to make a full recovery.
“Great teamwork and a quick response by all involved,” police added.
Last month in the US state of Vermont, police rescued a group of ice skaters who had also become trapped on floating ice.
Using kayaks and ferry boats, rescuers brought the group back from the icy Lake Champlain.
Officials warn that ice fishing conditions can change rapidly during the relatively warm daylight hours.
By BBC News
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