23 Rescued After Ice Shelf Breaks on Georgian Bay

Twenty-three people were rescued Sunday after the ice shelf they were on while ice fishing broke away from the shore of Georgian Bay in southwestern Ontario, drifting up to two kilometers into the lake and splitting apart, stranding some in the frigid water.

The incident occurred near Cobble Beach in the Owen Sound area, where groups of men, women and children had ventured onto the ice early that morning in search of salmon and trout. According to Ontario Provincial Police Constable Craig Soldan, a fisherman noticed the movement when he checked his GPS and realized the group was no longer near shore. The ice shelf, spanning several football fields in length and width, separated rapidly due to rising temperatures and wind exposure over the past few days, which had weakened its stability.

As the floe drifted farther into Georgian Bay, north of Toronto and across Lake Huron from Michigan, it began to fracture into multiple sections. Some individuals managed to remain on larger pieces of ice, while others fell into the water and clung to slushy fragments. Kevin Fox, one of the stranded fishermen, described the panic on social media: "I turned around and saw waves forming behind us....