Arctic Bay (July 02/01) - A short cut turned into a long haul for a 61-year-old Arctic Bay man last month. Joseph Oqallak spent five days trapped but unharmed between two rushing rivers 80 kilometres east of Arctic Bay.
"He pushed the elements and it didn't work out for him," said Eric Doig, manager of Nunavut Emergency Services.
After buying a new snowmobile in Pond Inlet June 16, Oqallak decided he'd save time and gas by cutting across the land instead of sea ice.
He'd have made the trip in a day without much trouble had rising summer temperatures not melted large stretches of snow and ice, making the short cut impassable by snowmobile.
Oqallak tried returning to Pond Inlet but the surrounding rivers rose so quickly that Oqallak found himself stranded.
Realizing his predicament, he radioed family for help. Doig was called after Oqallak's family and friends failed to reach him for the same reason he was stuck.
While a helicopter was found, Doig chartered a Twin Otter plane to drop off food and medical supplies.
Rescuers, including Arctic Bay RCMP officer Const. Herman Dukhedin-Lalla reached Oqallak June 20, five days after he left Pond Inlet.
Arctic Bay Mayor Noire Iqalukjuak joined rescuers as a translator for the unilingual Inuktitut-speaking man.
"He looked very well rested," Iqalukjuak said.
A retrieval operation for Oqallak's new machine has been planned for this week, Iqalukjuak added.
