20 tourists rescued after being stranded on ice in Canadian arctic
This is Ilulissat Icefjord, western Greenland, a UNESCO World Heritage site. With the race for Arctic riches steaming ahead, the region’s indigenous Inuits are raising their voices and demanding that Arctic nations stop stealing their land and respect their way of life, both in Greenland and Canada.
Twenty tourists have been rescued from an ice floe in the Canadian arctic territory of Nunavut on Wednesday.
The tourists were traveling with Arctic Kingdom Expeditions adventure group when the ice floe they were traveling on early Tuesday broke away near Arctic Bay.
They were sent about 25 miles off the mainland.
The tourists were eventually able to make it back to land by foot with help of rescuers and a shift in the direction of the ice.
A helicopter would be sent for the group Wednesday. They are currently taking shelter in a cabin where Canadian armed forces dropped emergency supplies and food.
"They've been able to locate the area and the folks that are stranded on the ice floe, and they've been able to drop survival rescue kits, which include large life-rafts as well as other survival equipment," Maj. Steve Neta, with the Royal Canadian Air Force, told CBC.
Another group of whale hunters had also became stranded on a nearby ice floe the same day but made it back safely.
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