Man and his dog rescued after snowmobile falls through ice

A pair of RCMP detachments, nearby conservation officers, a fire department and a band council teamed up to rescue a man and his dog who got stranded on a northern Manitoba waterway after the man's snowmobile fell through the ice.

A 40-year-old man from Opaskwayak Cree Nation was snowmobiling with his dog on a tributary near Landry Lake, about 20 kilometres from the First Nation, when the sled fell through the ice just after 1 p.m. on Sunday.

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The man and his dog got off the snowmobile before it sank, but were left trapped on the unstable ice, unable to walk to shore.

RCMP from The Pas and Moose Lake pooled resources with conservation officers from The Pas, the Opaskwayak Cree Nation fire department and some of its council members to rescue the pair. The group followed the snowmobile tracks and usedamphibious vehiclesto get the man and dog to safety.

"We felt a surge of relief when we were able to put eyes on the two of them and saw that they were okay," said The Pas RCMP Cpl. Colin Stark, who led the rescue team.

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"Thankfully, we were able to co-ordinate a complex rescue in a short time because everyone pitched in. Working together equipped with the proper resources, we were able to have a successful outcome, and everyone made it home safely."

RCMP are advising the public to use extreme caution around lakes, rivers and creeks due to unsafe ice conditions.

Opaskwayak is about 525 kilometres northwest of Winnipeg.