Skip to content

Yellowknife coast guard rescue 10 after 8.5 hour ordeal

Two boats carrying a total of 10 people onboard were rescued by the Yellowknife Coast Guard after an eight and-a-half hour ordeal Friday night.

Coast guard auxiliary were dispatched to the Beniah Islands on Great Slave Lake at 8:15 p.m. after a distress signal was received by RCMP.

One of the vessels blew out an engine and drifted less than a kilometer from the spot from where it had originally signalled RCMP, said Const. Heather Cosenzo.

The coast guard and boaters returned to shore at approximately 4:05 a.m. on Saturday morning.

One person was treated for mild hypothermia, according to information obtained by Yellowknifer. However, Cosenzo could not confirm if anyone was treated during the rescue.

RCMP said the stranded boaters had all of the safety supplies they needed in order to stay safe overnight.

RCMP is reminding residents to make sure they have life-jackets and other safety supplies handy before they drop their boats in the water, said Cosenzo.