Dutch expedition ends tragically
Michele LeTourneau
Northern News Services
Monday, May 4, 2015
QAUSUITTUQ/RESOLUTE
Two Dutch explorers who were travelling about 200 km north of Resolute Bay to study sea ice are presumed drowned, RCMP announced April 30.
Marc Cornelissen and Philip de Roo, working for an organization called Cold Facts based in the Netherlands, were on a two-month scientific study of the area's ice. Part of their research involved interviewing hunters about ice conditions, according to the Cold Facts website.
As early as March 29, Cornelissen noted in his live diary on the website that there was a surprising amount of open water and thin ice.
"Yesterday we arrived from Iqaluit via Arctic Bay in Resolute. The weather was beautiful. About - 30C, sunny, golden light and a great view. What was striking was the amount of thin ice and open water east of Resolute in the Barrow Strait. We heard that the winter was unusually cold, but nevertheless the amount of open water is rather unusual too.
It shows that ice conditions and temperatures don't always necessarily correlate," Cornelissen wrote.
A search and rescue operation failed to locate the two, after a local aircraft flew over the area reporting poor ice conditions.
RCMP say the two men are presumed to have drowned and the search was stopped.
