Posted on 12/26/2024 7:04:29 AM PST by jerod
Dive team used remotely operated vehicle to locate the body of 58-year-old resident of RM of Ste. Anne
A 58-year-old Manitoba man drowned on Christmas Eve after his skid-steer loader fell through the ice on a pond in a rural community southeast of Winnipeg.
Firefighters and emergency divers spent three hours on Tuesday trying to recover the man, who was trying to clear snow from a pond on his property in the Rural Municipality of Ste. Anne.
He was inside the skid-steer when it fell through the ice at about 1:30 p.m., said Jean-Claude Normandeau, the fire chief for the neighbouring municipality of La Broquerie.
The man's family was present during the search undertaken by roughly 18 emergency-response personnel, Normandeau said.
"That was very tough leaving the scene, seeing the family in that predicament," he said in an interview.
Body located at bottom of pond
Officials called in the non-profit Hutterian Emergency Aquatic Response Team, or HEART, which is devoted to recovering the bodies of drowning victims.
HEART initially sent one diver into the pond in an effort to locate the man, said Paul Maendel, who co-ordinates the dive team and serves as its vice-president.
The diver found the skid-steer upright on the bottom of the pond, but Maendel said the driver was no longer in the cab. He added the door had been opened inward.
HEART, which is equipped with imaging and robotics, then used a remotely operated vehicle to search for the man.
At about 4:30 p.m., his body was located about 10 metres away from the skid-steer, Maendel said.
"All of our calls are fatalities so we know there isn't going to be a good outcome," he said in an interview.
RCMP Sgt. Paul Manaigre confirmed the death of the 58-year-old property owner.
Be aware of ice conditions
Roberto Hiebert, a councillor in the nearby municipality of Hanover, requested privacy on behalf of the family of the deceased.
Skid-steer loaders, like the one seen in this file photo, have an enclosed cab. (Shutterstock)
"This tragic circumstance will affect them deeply for years to come, as it has also done to the community around him." Hiebert said via email. "These are cherished and important times of the year for us in the southeast."
Maendel urged anyone considering driving vehicles on to ice to be very careful and consider the conditions.
"What you need to be aware of is the ice condition and it can be different under the layer of snow," Meandel said. "It can change from one day to another, especially with the milder weather."
No kidding, they weigh a ton
Is that pic truly a “skid steer”. I thought skids had the trac wheels (like a tank) and not independent wheels.
Scroll down and take your pick.
https://www.google.com/search?q=Skid-steer+loaders&rlz=1CAXGER_enUS1094&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8
Available both ways.
Darwin was right.
Stupid never takes a day off, even Christmas Eve.
At least you would stay warm in the cab.
For a while.
Did this accident happen after he used the skid steer to remove snow from his house roof?
...another Canadian who wasn’t treated for his addiction to hockey.
My neighbors use a snowblower on the pond to clear the ice, but it’s only 3 feet deep at most. Skids can weigh more than cars… not a great idea.
“This tragic circumstance will affect them deeply for years to come, as it has also done to the community around him.” Hiebert said via email. “These are cherished and important times of the year for us in the southeast.”
I’m not sure that I’d be driving something that heavy on ice in the southeast as it usually doesn’t build up very thick here.
Charles Darwin explained it well.
They are true skid steer machines. Their steering is accomplished by applying brakes to both wheels on the same side of the machine while the other two wheels on the opposite side propel the machine in a cornering fashion.
They steer the same as a tracked vehicle, such as a dozer or tank. Their advantage is a zero turning radius which allows close quarters work. It’s popular to put tracks on these little loaders to increase flotation and traction.
As the article suggests, they do not float on water. We live in the same type of climate the accident took place, only on the US side of the border. It has not been cold enough to thicken the ice sufficiently to hold up something that heavy.
What a sad story,but why would you take a piece of extremely heavy equipment onto ice? And why would someone care if there’s snow on their pond??????
The property I used to own in the Sierra foothills had two ponds. We’d hit ten degrees once or twice a year. Just a little snow every once in a while. So I was never confronted with the need to remove snow from my pond. The article leaves me none the wiser—- anyone have any idea why one would want to perform this operation in the first place?
Ha! You beat me why I was typing—- I posted the same question!
Hunga Tonga effect on warming... maybe Darwin though...
Just a guess. So the kids could ice skate or something similar.
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