A man driving a bobcat died on Friday after he broke through the ice and became trapped inside his vehicle.
The deceased, James Dietrich, was clearing snow off the slough at a job site when the ice gave away and his bobcat became submerged underwater. Other employees working in the area saw Dietrich trapped inside his bobcat and called for help.
Prince Albert Fire and Rescue, ambulance and the RCMP were called to the scene at approximately 1:40 p.m. Firefighters attempted to crawl into the water to reach the door of the bobcat, but were unsuccessful.
A P.A. Auto tow truck was called to the scene in attempt to move the bobcat, but firefighters still could not reach the door.
The P.A. Fire Chief asked the RCMP to deploy the Underwater Rescue Team in order to extract the body from the bobcat. Before the URT’s arrival, P.A. Auto returned with two large semi tow trucks and successfully recovered the bobcat and the deceased at 8:18 p.m.
The deceased was later transported to the Victoria Hospital.
