渥太華河: 如履薄冰 / The Ottawa River: Walking On Thin Ice

Photo caption: Ice melting early on the Ottawa River

攝影圖片: 渥太華河冰雪提早融解

This year's early spring-break of the Ottawa River caught many people by surprise. The ice has been melting away earlier and faster than what is considered normal at this time of the season. Earlier near the Quebec shore, a vehicle broke through the ice and a woman trapped inside was drowned in the ice-cold water. A few weeks later, the same thing happened. This time, a driver who had been trying to haul his fishing shack off the melting ice was pulled underneath when his half-ton truck sank thru the ice into the fast-moving current.

I took this photo on the beach of Petri Island, not far away from where the ice-fisherman drowned. In fact, I could see his fishing hut half-sticking out of the melting ice. Needless to say, I did not take one single step onto the ice while taking the photo.