A man has been rescued after clinging to a chunk of ice for more than 30 minutes while floating in freezing water.
Jamie Snedden, 45, was walking along the shoreline on the ice when it broke free and drifted out to sea near Anchor Point in Alaska.
Alaska Wildlife Trooper spokesman Tim DeSpain said Jamie was sent out about 274 metres near the mouth of the river.
When Trooper Jeremy Baum arrived he could only see Jamie's head and arms above water as he held onto the ice.
Jamie was not wearing any type of personal flotation device.
The air temperature at the time was -1.11C, while the water was 3.33C, according to the US coast guard.
A nearby fishing vessel named Misty responded to the urgent call for help and raced three miles to get to Jamie.
Jeremy had inflated a pack raft to row out to Jamie and he was pulled aboard the fishing vehicle with help from the ship’s captain.
Jamie was found conscious and breathing and rushed to a nearby hospital.
He was treated for hypothermia after he had been partially submerged in the water’s near-subzero temperature for about half an hour.
He is expected to make a full recovery.
Robert Mathis, deputy fire chief at Western Emergency Services, told Anchorage Daily News : "Everything went the way it should have gone, and the fortunate thing was that there was a boat in the area that was willing to respond, which was huge.
“It was a bad situation that would have turned out significantly worse had it not been for the vessel Misty actually responding.
“We have been going through a period of much warmer weather.
“The ice is starting to melt, and it is starting to become treacherous, and if you don’t know the ice conditions, stay off the ice.”
