Canadian fishers rescued dramatically after drifting ice shelf leaves them fearing doom

Kevin Fox assumed that the unusually mild, spring‑like temperatures that had briefly driven the cold from southeastern Ontario would make for a fine day of ice fishing, a common winter activity in the area.

After moving to a new spot because the wind and the ice “didn’t feel right” and the fish were not biting near the shore, he and a companion joined almost twenty other anglers on a stretch of Lake Huron’s frozen surface. They followed the usual routine of anyone spending a day on the ice: they drilled holes, dropped their lines and waited.

Less than four hours after stepping onto the frozen lake, trouble began. Fishermen, including Fox, observed that the ice was shifting – barely perceptible, yet enough to be recorded on their electronic devices.

Unseasonably warm weather and strong gusts had caused a large slab of ice to break away from the Georgian Bay shoreline, leaving 23 people – many with families – stranded and prompting a dramatic rescue.

Despite the high winds, Ontario police dispatched two helicopters and an air ambulance to retrieve the anglers in a two‑hour operation on Sunday.

Fox posted on Facebook that the group tried to walk toward one side of the bay in hopes of reaching land, only to discover that the ice had already separated from the shore at that point. In another area they encountered the same condition: the ice had sheared away from the land.

As cracks widened into gaps, fear set in, survivors recalled.

“I just started screaming: the ice is opening. The ice is opening,” said Alfie How, one of the anglers, to the Sun Times, a local newspaper.

Three members attempted to run toward shore, but the ice beneath them fractured into smaller pieces, leaving them on open water.

“That’s when the reality of the situation really set in. We heard with the strong winds that they could not send a boat or helicopter. We honestly thought we were doomed,” he wrote.

“Some of the guys began making final phone calls to their families. It’s something I will never forget – seeing grown men crying while saying goodbye to the people they love.”

Although a few of the stranded anglers were wearing flotation suits, they knew the icy water would overwhelm them within minutes.

Eventually, helicopters arrived, first lifting the trio from a small ice floe and then transporting the remaining people back to shore.

Fox says he and the others took precautions by monitoring ice thickness, wind and temperature to avoid a catastrophic outcome.

Police, however, note that warm weather can have unpredictable effects on ice, especially on large bodies of water.

“We’re really encouraging people here in our area to stay off the ice altogether. Stay away from the edges of waterways,” Constable Craig Soldan of the Huron County Ontario Provincial Police told the Canadian Press.

“That includes rivers, ponds – any kind of water body where ice shelves are breaking away.”