All Aboard Rescued After Six Hours Stranded

A pilot and five passengers have been rescued from a remote island in Great Slave Lake in Canada's Northwest Territories after the pilot of the Cessna 208 made a forced landing on the frozen lake.

The Canadian Press reports that RCMP Cpl Todd Scaplen said no one was seriously injured in the incident, and they survived by huddling together on the remote island in the lake around a fire they built to keep the freezing temperatures at bay.

The Cessna was operated by Air Tindi. The pilot reportedly declared an emergency Thursday morning following departure from Yellowknife in icy conditions. The plane set down on the lake about 25 miles north of Yellowknife.

"Under very difficult weather conditions the Caravan pilot was able to land the aircraft safely and evacuate the passengers," Air Trindi said in a release.

An initial report given to Transport Canada, which dispatched a "Go" team to the lake, indicated that the 208 had departed at 0644 local time en route to Fort Simpson. The pilot requested a return to Yellowknife about 22 minutes into the flight due to icing, and about 13 minutes later declared an emergency citing severe icing. The plane landed on the frozen lake about a minute later.

(Cessna 208 pictured in file photo. Not incident airplane)

FMI: www.tc.gc.ca/eng/menu.htm