Teenager falls through ice in Oliver

[Tony]

A young male suffered hypothermia after falling through the ice on Tucelnuit Lake this afternoon.

Firefighters, police and ambulance responded to a call regarding a 16-year-old youth that had fallen through the ice at Rotary Beach. At the scene, the boy was very still, hanging on to the edge of a piece of ice. His backpack was beside him.

Rescuers were trying to figure out the safest way to reach the boy. An RCMP officer with a flotation device was trying to reach the victim, but had to abandon the attempt. Another rescuer was on a lake board trying to get close enough to throw a lifeline to the youth, but was unsuccessful. Meanwhile, distraught family members and friends were growing more concerned by the minute.

Firefighters managed to get access to a a canoe and two rescuers were able to throw the lifeline directly at the boy, who was able to grab onto it. He was soon pulled into the canoe and brought to shore, where he was rushed into an awaiting ambulance.

Other than hypothermia, the victim’s condition was undetermined.

The circumstances of how the boy ended up on the ice are unknown.

Hopefully he's ok....
Has anyone heard anything about his condition?

[youhavegottobekidding]

Glad the kid is okay also BUT how stupid can you be? It hasn't been COLD enough to have ice thick enough to walk on. I suspect he will not do that again. :)

[TylerM4]

According to the article here on Castanet, he was released from hospital that same evening - he's fine.

http://www.castanet.net/news/Penticton/ ... ice-rescue

[GordonH]

Valley lakes have not received cold enough weather to insure thick ice to safely venture out on.

Stay safe, keep off. Good to hear this young man is okay.

[SmokeOnTheWater]

Hopefully he's ok....
Has anyone heard anything about his condition?

http://globalnews.ca/news/2410923/oliver-teen-rescued-after-plunging-through-ice-on-frozen-lake/

[LANDM]

Just thinking about a tactful and politically correct way of talking about Darwinism in the context of this incident......but I can't.

Like someone else said, how stupid can someone be to walk on thin ice!

[SmokeOnTheWater]

Like someone else said, how stupid can someone be to walk on thin ice!

Cut him some slack.

Becker watched the rescue effort fearing for her autistic son’s life.

[LANDM]

Aha, the tv report I saw didn't mention that. It merely said that the ice had just formed.

Definitely an unfortunate incident with that information.

[Queen K]

BUMP

People fall through ice ever Winter. We go through the headlines, the tragedy, the what if's. The idea that equipment will save you is nice, but most people don't carry it, or have it.

Learn how to self rescue, it could save your life. I had to self rescue when I was between 10 and 12 yrs old, learned it from a CBC information segment. At the time, tv did public broadcasting informationals. I credit remembering one of those when I was getting myself out of the icy waters and home again.


https://www.castanet.net/edition/news-s ... htm#322889

Parks Canada is urging ice skaters to check the thickness of the lake’s ice very carefully after four people fell through. Three people managed to self rescue while one woman required a rescue response.

“Understand that ice thickness may vary considerably over short distances. Having equipment available for self rescue can be very useful in areas with unknown ice thickness,” read a statement from Parks Mountain Safety on Facebook.

[Queen K]

Self rescue from falling through ice.

[JagXKR]

This should be mandatory for kids to learn at school.
Also a lesson about Bitcoin or gift cards demanded by "companies" for payment.

[Queen K]

Yes, I haven't been in school forever but can't recall when self rescue from broken ice was even taught.

But I am unsure about the bitcoin/card comment, what is up with those?

[JagXKR]

Sorry it was a bit off topic.
But just one more thing kids need to be taught. That NO business will ever ask for Bitcoin or a gift card as payment. In other words, scam identification. Too many news stories where idiots pay scammers using Bitcoin or gift cards.
My bad.
I actually learned this self extrication technique, those many decades ago, during survival training in Cadets. Have never had to use it.

[Queen K]

Isok, I learned something new for sure.

When I recalled the CBC self rescue technique, it was to break ice as far as you could til it held you and haul yourself up.
The leg kicking makes more sense so I posted that one.

[TylerM4]

Isok, I learned something new for sure.

When I recalled the CBC self rescue technique, it was to break ice as far as you could til it held you and haul yourself up.
The leg kicking makes more sense so I posted that one.

A combination of both approaches is best.

That video showed a near perfect self-rescue situation. The thickness of the ice in that spot was rapidly changing. 10' further out was no ice at all, 10' further in and ice is thick enough for 2 people. Most falls through ice don't happen that way - people generally see open water and quickly realize they shouldn't walk toward it. Much more common is falling through ice in an area where the surrounding ice is mostly the same thickness.

Bot Scouts was great for this. I was taught all sorts of tips for thin ice including practicing self resuce. Preparation is also key. Roping off to shore or another person, carrying a pole, etc can also save your life. Most times people are aware that they're on thin ice and falling through isn't really a surprise. If you've ever walked thin ice, it's easy to tell - ice will usually make cracking noises and you can start to feel it "sink" a little as you step. MY experience has been that the ice will give you lots of warning before you actually fall through.