Snowmobile rescue after vehicle goes through ice near Inuvik

Two people were rescued after their vehicle went through the ice outside Inuvik on Monday, RCMP in the community said.

The individuals involved, who were not identified, were eventually found by rescuers stranded along the Mackenzie River some 35 km from Inuvik, toward Little Bombardier Channel.

The search team used snowmobiles to compensate for thin ice in the area.

Both people and three dogs were rescued. All were said by police to be in good health.

The rescue operation involved police, Inuvik Ground Search and Rescue, and Parks Canada.

“It is believed that to access that area of the channel, they travelled over a closed portion of an ice road,” police said in a news release on Wednesday.

“RCMP remind citizens and travellers to use extreme caution when travelling on the land and our waterways that are in the midst of freezing up.

“Those who travel on unsafe ice conditions, or closed portions of road systems, put themselves at risk as well as those who may be called to assist in locating them, should they suffer an accident or incident.”