Man Helps Rescue Friends Who Fell Through Ice While On Snowmobiles

STRAWBERRY RESERVOIR, Utah – With the colder temperatures came several water rescues over the weekend when people fell through thin ice.

One of those rescues included three people riding snowmobiles on Strawberry Reservoir. The trio fell through ice on a remote part of the lake while approaching an island.

“You could see suddenly that the ice changed,” said Andrew Skinner, one of the three who broke through the ice. “The color of the ice had changed. There wasn’t as much snow on it like there was in other places.”

“Just as I realized that, I watched their snowmobiles start to break through the ice and knew instantly that we were in huge trouble,” he added.

Skinner said he went under soon after. Because of his experience, he knew how to act.

“I need to stand up, and I need to get off this machine and get on top of the ice,” he said.

He and another friend, who was on a snowmobile that hadn’t sunk, managed to make it to the island safely. The priority then turned to getting their other friends out of the water.

“He was saying things like, ‘I don’t want to die,'” Skinner said, his voice breaking with emotion. “They started to scream, and I knew that the only way that they stood a chance is if I made something happen.”

With a rope in his hands, he got on all fours and ventured back out onto the ice to get to his friends. He went as far as he could and then threw the rope.

“She grabbed on, and so I pulled as hard as I could,” he said. “He pushed her from behind, and she popped right out of the water. I don’t know how, but I pulled as hard as I could, and he shot out of that water as if someone pushed him.”

Skinner and his friends were rescued from the island a short time later. Fortunately, none of them needed to go to the hospital.

Despite all that happened, Skinner said he’ll definitely go out ice fishing again.