Ice trapped men rescued

by Contributed - Castanet  Mar 25, 2012 / 1:01 am

At approximately 7 p.m. on Saturday, March 24th, 25 members of Vernon Search and Rescue responded to the request of the RCMP to assist in the rescue of two boats stuck in the ice near Newport Beach on Westside. The original boat containing fishermen became trapped due to the ice moving in the late afternoon. Two people in a canoe assisted the trapped people until Search and Rescue arrived. Upon arrival with two large rescue boats, the Vernon SAR Ice Rescue Team was put into service and retrieved the men from their boat. They were cold but not hypothermic and were transported to shore by 9 p.m. where they were checked by BC Ambulance crews.