Four hunters rescued after becoming stranded on island in Nunavut

BYLOT ISLAND, Nunavut – Four stranded hunters have been located on an island in Baffin Bay, Nunavut, and should be back home by morning.

A spokesman for the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre in Trenton, Ont., said late Wednesday that a Hercules aircraft had arrived at Bylot Island and the rescue of the quartet was underway.

The spokesman said that the naval reserve vessel HMC Shawinigan was also on scene and assessing the situation.

Earlier reports indicated one of the four was experiencing some medical problems, but the JRCC spokesman said an asthma inhaler was dropped from the Hercules and all four people were in good health.

The rescue centre was contacted Wednesday morning by emergency management officials in Nunavut, who reported the four men’s boat had drifted away earlier in the morning.

There is no information on how long the men, believed to be from nearby Pond Inlet, Nunavut, have been on the island, nor when they left the community.

(The Canadian Press, CJOJ)