A crack of approximately 30 meters, which formed Monday morning on the ice in the Anse-à-Benjamin sector, prevented a group of fishermen from returning to the shore.
A team from the Saguenay Fire Department, aboard amphibious vehicles, was deployed to help them.
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Fishermen had to be rescued following a crack in the ice.
Photo: - / Lauriane Boudreau
The distress call was made around 9:30 a.m. Monday morning. Around ten firefighters took part in the rescue operation which lasted around an hour.
When we arrived, there were three fishermen on the ice floe. Everyone was safe and healthy, it was a matter of evacuation which was impossible due to the width of the fracture
explained the operations chief of the Saguenay Fire Department, Nicolas Guay.
At a safe distance from the fracture, our units, who are in Fortuna boats with immersion suits, progressed to reach the water’s edge, then they crossed with our flotation equipment to recover the people who were on the other side.
The fishermen are now safe. The firefighters also brought their tents to prevent them from trying to recover them by themselves, in particular.
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The operations chief of the Saguenay Fire Department, Nicolas Guay, led the rescue team.
Photo : -
Saguenay asks again to leave the ice
After calling on fishermen to leave the ice at the end of the week, the City of Saguenay once again recommended that they leave the fjord on Monday. In a press release, the Municipality also notes that 40 people have left the ice with the help of firefighters
for security reasons on Saturday.
For his part, Saguenay spokesperson Dominic Arsenault notes that the thickness of the ice is not the same everywhere.
Measurements taken last week showed an average of 6 inches, or 12 cm, but there are places where there are maybe 8 inches. [20 cm] or others where there are only 3 inches [7 cm]
he put forward.
Not only do you have to be very careful, but the City’s real recommendation is not to go on the ice. For people who are already there, it is simply a matter of getting out and waiting for the next measurements to see if the ice has thickened and if it is safe to go there.
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A long crack was visible on the live camera of the City of Saguenay.
Photo: City of Saguenay
However, according to the general director of Contact Nature, Marc-André Galbrand, the cold wave hitting Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean should contribute to the thickening of the ice on the fjord.
With -25 and -30°C tonight, it will favor the formation of ice because until very recently, almost the entire Saguenay was in clear water, except for a small area at Anse- at-Benjamin
he explained.
No wind, with days at -20 or -25°C and nights at -25 or -30°C for a week, we could get a 7 to 10 inch [17 à 25 cm] of ice in a very short time
continued the CEO of the organization that manages ice fishing in Saguenay.
According to Marc-André Galbrand, electronic signs with variable messages will also be added around Anse-à-Benjamin to signal the danger and encourage fishermen to stay on land.
Remember that the Grande-Baie sector remains inaccessible for the moment because the ice there is still too thin.
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