2 Lake Ontario Water Rescues In 24 Hours Has Toronto Police Out With A Safety Warning
"Keep off the ice."
Lake Ontario and Toronto's harbourfront.
The Toronto Police Service (TPS) is out with a warning about water safety after two incidents in Lake Ontario happened in less than 24 hours.
In both cases, people had to be rescued from the freezing cold waters of the lake and were luckily brought to safety, but things could've ended very differently.
On Monday morning, TPs said its Marine Unit, the Toronto Fire Rescue boat and EMS responded to an area of Centre Island where three people had fallen through the ice.
The three were safely rescued due to what police credited as a "rapid response" to the situation and were transported to the hospital to be treated for hypothermia.
Police told Narcity they are all expected to recover.
"Over the last week, extremely cold temperatures brought on a flash freeze to shorelines around Lake Ontario and surrounding water ways in Toronto," TPS said in a press release. "A two day flash freeze will not make ice safe to walk or skate on. This is why TPS Marine, Toronto Fire and EMS are advising people to stay off the ice."
There are certainly plenty of other places in Toronto and around Ontario to go skating, risk-free.
Police added that Monday's incident "could easily have ended in tragedy."
The same goes for what happened less than 24 hours later, early Tuesday.
Just after 4:00 a.m., police reported a man fell into Lake Ontario near Queens Quay West and the Martin Goodman Trail.
\u201cWATER RESCUE:\nQueens Quay West + Martin Goodman Trl\n4:06 a.m.\n- A man fell into the lake\n- A Citizen in the area heard the man cry for help and threw him a life preserver\n@Toronto_Fire assisted the man out of the water\n- He was transported to hospital by Medics\n#GO294354\n^lb\u201d— Toronto Police Operations (@Toronto Police Operations) 1675770266
"A citizen in the area heard the man cry for help and threw him a life preserver," police said in a tweet.
They confirmed the man was rescued by Toronto Fire and sent to the hospital.
While reminding people of the dangers of attempting to walk or skate on Lake Ontario, police also warned of warmer temperatures on the way.
"Environment Canada is forecasting mild temperatures this week, along with rain," police said. "These milder temperatures will cause the snow and ice to melt resulting in dangerous and slippery conditions around the waterways. These conditions will also cause rivers and streams to swell resulting in fast moving water."
They've urged people to be "extremely cautious around all bodies of water and to keep off the ice."
This article's cover image was used for illustrative purposes only.