Emergency crews were called to the North Saskatchewan River to deal with a report of a person stranded in the river.
Fortunately, the stranded person managed to get out of the middle of the river safely on his own, but the incident has prompted officials at North Battleford Fire and Emergency Services to urge residents to stay off the icy river because it is dangerous.
The call came in to North Battleford Fire and Emergency Services around 2:40 p.m. Friday. A report indicated a person stranded on the river at 1 Riverside Drive across from the golf course and near the old bridge.
NBFES along with WPD Ambulance and RCMP arrived at the scene with three apparatus and five personnel. They searched for about 20 minutes.
When they arrived they spotted an individual in the river area. That person started to walk to the south edge of the river, onto the embankment and left in a vehicle. Emergency officials speculate the individual could have been fishing.
This is the second ice rescue situation that emergency personnel have been called to in the past month. The earlier incident in late October involved a vehicle stuck in the river.
In the wake of these incidents NBFES has sent out an advisory reminding people that it is still not safe to cross the ice on the river. Despite the cold weather, the ice on all bodies of water is still dangerously thin. This includes the North Saskatchewan River, lakes, creeks and storm channels.
Residents are being urged to watch out for and obey thin ice signs and NBFES says they do not want to see anyone endanger their lives by going on ice surfaces that are unstable.
