Cambridge Bay parents shaken after boy gets stuck in deep ice crevasse

The head of the daycare society in Cambridge Bay, Nunavut, says it plans to improve its rules onfield trips after a preschooler got stuck nearly two metres down a crevasse in the ice on Tuesday.

Ann Balasubramaniam, chair of the Cambridge Bay Childcare Society, says when a chaperone realized the young boy wasn't in sight during a trip to the west arm of the bay a popular spot for tobogganingthey thought he might be hiding in the bus or behind a snowbank. But they called RCMPin case it was something more serious.

And it was. Balasubramaniam said astaff member from the hamlet ended up finding the boy in an ice crevasse up to four-and-a-half-metres deep.

Now, the daycare, along with the hamlet, RCMPdetachment and fire department,are warning people in the community about the dangers of ice crevasses.

"Pretty much every parent within the daycare society was shaken by this," Balasubramaniam said.

"We had no previous knowledge of crevasses like this."

Boy uninjured

An ice or snow crevasse forms with the tide. In this case,the ebb and flow of the water endedup freezing to create a tunnel-like crevasse near the shoreline.

Keith Morrison, the hamlet's fire chief, was called to the scene along with at least six other RCMPofficers and hamlet staff members.

According to a news release from the Cambridge Bay RCMPon Friday, an attempt to lower one of the officers into the crevasse failed, so everyone took part in digging around the crevasse to get closer to the boy.

Morrison said thathole was at least as tall as the officers.

Two officers entered the crevasse head first and were able to get the boy out approximately half an hour after he was noticed missing, police said.

We're trying to make sure that the mental health of the children... is prioritized.- Chair, Cambridge Bay Childcare Society

Balasubramaniamsaidthe boy, whose age and name have not been released for privacy reasons, was responsive and got checked out at the health centre. He wasn'thypothermic and got to go home with his family that evening.

She saidthe daycare society held a meeting with parents on Tuesday to talk about the incident.

"We're trying to make sure that the mental health of the children and their understanding of events is prioritized to make sure that there is no fears for the children of the daycare."

Balasubramaniam saidshe's also planning on updatingthe society's risk assessment policies for field trips in and around the community.

6 adults for 17 kids

In this case, she saidparents of the children had signed waivers for the field trip. She also saidthere were five staff members as well as one parent chaperone supervising the 17 children from the Cambridge Bay Childcare Society. The hamlet's daycare program was also there with at least 10 kids and their chaperones.

Balasubramaniam saidpeople in Cambridge Bay are well aware of ice safety and to stayclear of the ice during break up, which starts in about a month.But many people, including fire chief Morrison, who's lived in Cambridge Bay for 21 years,have never seen or heard of anything like this.

Morrison, has since posted a public service announcement online. And some elders are hoping to mark the crevasses in the area.

"It's a good practice to bring a friend and to always have a way to call for help,"RCMP said in its news release.