Baker Lake family of 4 safe after being adrift overnight in Hudson Bay

A family of four from Baker Lake, Nunavut, is now safe and sound after being adrift overnight on Hudson Bay. 

"It's a big relief, it was a stressful night," said Richard Aksawnee of Baker Lake's search and rescue team.

The family, which includes a man, woman and two teenage boys, was out narwhal hunting on Hudson Bay, near Walrus Island north of Chesterfield Inlet, when their boat ran into mechanical issues and they went adrift.

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An SOS call was sent out from a Spot device around 9:30 p.m. on Wednesday. The search and rescue team went into action shortly afterwards.

A Hercules was dispatched from Winnipeg shortly after 6 a.m. Thursday. The Chesterfield Inlet search and rescue team went out at sunup and reached the family before 9 a.m.

The family was adrift for over 12 hours on their boat, which had no cabin, when the rescue team reached them.

"Everybody is alright, a little bit fatigued, a little bit cold, but everybody is fine," said Aksawnee.

Once their boat was picked up, the family was taken to the mainland where they warmed up, had something to eat, and started heading back to Chesterfield Inlet.

According to Aksawnee, this is the first time in the past 20 years that there's been a joint rescue effort in Baker Lake in the summer months.