There has been another dangerous situation in eastern Ontario with people venturing onto the ice.
It happened shortly after 5:00 p.m. on February 21, 2024. Four men had been out fishing on the ice of Wellers Bay, nearly a kilometre from shore in the Consecon area. The ice they were on separated from shore, leaving them no way to get back.
Officers with the Prince Edward County Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) Detachment, along with officers from the Quinte West Detachment, OPP Emergency Response Team and OPP Traffic Incident Management Enforcement (TIME) team responded to the scene when a concerned resident reported the incident.
Prince Edward Fire and Rescue responded and was able to rescue two of the men using a boat. A helicopter from 424 Search and Rescue Squadron at CFB Trenton was dispatched by the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre and its crew was able to rescue the other two men and bring them to shore.
There have been several recent incidents across eastern Ontario involving people falling through the ice, including one which tragically resulted in the deaths of two people.
The OPP continues to stress that no ice is safe ice.
The winter weather has not been typical and ice conditions have been unpredictable and inconsistent.
Ice is greatly affected by weather, as well as other factors including:
· Water depth and size of body of water
· Currents and other moving water
· Logs, rocks, and shoals absorbing heat from the sun
· Changing air temperature
Ice does not form at uniform thickness on a body of water. It may look safe, but may not be thick, strong or stable enough to support a person’s weight.
This week’s mild weather will make the ice even less stable.
Children should not play near or on ice covered bodies of water or even cold or fast flowing water.
Last night, #424Sqn was called to assist @OPP_CR and Prince Edward County firefighters with a humanitarian #SAR case: people on an ice floe in Wellers Bay, Lake Ontario. A CH-146 Griffon hoisted two fishers to safety aboard the helicopter and transferred them to EMS. #Rescue pic.twitter.com/ACmwr7ULOG
— Trenton JRCC CCCOS (@JRCCTrentCCCOS) February 22, 2024