Fishermen trapped in ice
Two fishermen managed to reel themselves into a chilly situation Saturday.
A pair of North Okanagan men were in a small fishing boat on Okanagan Lake when they became trapped in the ice near Newport Beach on Westside.
Vernon Search and Rescue rescue were called out to assist the fishermen at approximately 7 p.m. Saturday.
“It was very unusual,” said Leigh Pearson, search manager, who has never attended such a call of ice entrapment.
Sitting approximately half a kilometre from shore, the fishermen could not escape the ice, which moved in and trapped them in the late afternoon.
“There was probably 50 or 60 feet of water surrounding the ice,” said Pearson.
The fishermen were assisted by two people in a canoe until the 25 search and rescue members arrived on scene.
Then, dressed in cold-water protective gear, two members walked out on the ice and retrieved the fishermen and brought them to shore by 9 p.m.
Aside from being a little chilly, the fishermen were OK and were not hypothermic.
A resident on Westside witnessed the incident and says it is dangerous to be on the lake this time of year due to the ice flows.
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