Sudbury

Truck sinks into flood waters on James Bay ice road

There was a close call for two people travelling on an ice road just north of Fort Albany, Ont., Monday night when their cube van sank into three metres of freezing water.

2 people rescued from top of van stuck in high tide on James Bay winter road

Two people were rescued Monday from a cube van that sank into flood waters caused by a high tide. (Twitter/@muskegesko)

It was s a close call for two people travelling on an ice road just north of Fort Albany, Ont., Monday night when their cube van sank into three metres of freezing water.

A high tide caused water to flood a section of the road, said Wally Turner, who is the operations manager for the James Bay winter road.

"'Once they got there, the water started coming in the doors and so they just climbed on top of their vehicle," he said.

A search and rescue crew managed to reach the two stranded people using a boat, Turner said.

"[The truck] is still there right now. We're just waiting for the water to recede so we can go back and repair the road."

Turner said the James Bay winter road remains open to traffic, but cars and trucks have to use bypasses around some areas that have deteriorated. 

The winter road connects Moosonee with the communities of Fort Albany, Kashechewan and Attawapiskat.

Turner said it's possible the winter road season will last until the end of the month.