With rising temperatures diminishing ice conditions, an OPP officer has dived in to demonstrate how people should react if they fall through.
In a post to the OPP Highway Safety Division’s social media accounts, Sgt. Kerry Schmidt suits up in safety gear and gets into frigid water.
Shivering after emerging from the water, he urges people venturing onto the ice to “get ready for the unexpected.”
“You need to be able to self-rescue. Having the right equipment could make all the difference,” he wrote in the post. “Try to stay calm. You only have minutes and will become weak if you stay struggling in the water. Hypothermia will set in soon. Be prepared and stay alive.”