Manitoba man drowns while clearing snow from pond with skid-steer loader on Christmas Eve

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.

"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."