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 While travelling to the scene of a vehicle that broke through the ice on Prosperous Lake, an RCMP truck, right, was involved in a collision with a pickup truck at the junction of Highways 3 and 4. No one was injured in the crash. The driver of the truck that went through the ice is believed to have died. - Chris Hunsley/NNSL photo |
The man was plowing snow on a private road along Prosperous Lake -- near Cassidy Point -- when the ice below his vehicle gave way.
The truck quickly became submerged in near freezing water and the driver was unable to escape, said RCMP Const. Kerri Riehl.
"The operation has switched from search and rescue to recovery," said Riehl, five hours after the man disappeared. The Yellowknife Fire Department and Arctic Divers joined police at Prosperous Lake after a witness first reported the accident at around 11 a.m.
A diver made an attempt to reach the submerged truck, but was unsuccessful, said Riehl.
Police are not sure why the single-axle truck, with a snow plow attached to the side, fell through the ice.
The road, which police say leads to Discovery Mine, was relatively well travelled and ice thickness measured between 19 and 22 inches -- well above the limit for safe travel.
"At this point we are not certain, but it may have been a bad spot," said Riehl.
The road remains open, but the area near the accident site has been cordoned off, Riehl said.
While police continue to investigate the incident, recovery teams now face the difficult task of finding the man in frigid waters that Riehl estimated were more than 150 feet deep.
The NWT chief coroner has been notified of the accident.
Riehl declined to release the name of the man until his family had been notified.
En route to the accident, an RCMP truck collided with another vehicle at the junction of Highways 3 and 4, roughly two kilometres north of the city.
Riehl said nobody was hurt in the accident.
The RCMP vehicle -- a Chevrolet Suburban -- was heading straight when it collided with a left-turning pickup truck near the Jackfish power plant.
"We were not at fault," said Riehl. The matter is still under investigation, but not charges have been laid, she said.
