Stranded fishers rescued on Lake Manitoba
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Three stranded fishers were rescued after an Air Force plane spotted them on Lake Manitoba early Saturday.
RCMP were sent out on the lake near Saint Ambroise on Friday after one of the fishers texted a family member asking for help getting home.
Portage la Prairie officers launched a search-and-rescue mission shortly before 8 p.m. after being told the fishers — ranging in age from nine to 60 — had travelled several kilometres onto the frozen lake in an enclosed Bombardier.
Mounties and a family member spent three hours searching the area on snowmobiles. A family member received a second text asking for help during that time.
Police, who used drones during their search, could not find the fishers and contacted the Royal Canadian Air Force, who sent a Hercules plane.
The missing fishers were spotted about five kilometres off the shoreline shortly before 4:30 a.m. Saturday.
Police and a family member drove their snowmobiles to the spot.
The trio did not have firewood and were running low on fuel, Manitoba RCMP said in a news release Tuesday. The three people, who did not need medical attention, were taken to shore.