18 Canadian and 2 US tourists were stranded in the Arctic Bay area

Jun 27, 2013 08:38 GMT  ·  By

20 people were stranded on an ice flow in Canada after it broke apart from Baffin Island, in the Arctic. A portion measuring roughly 30 miles (48 km) drifted away from the larger ice slab.

"The idea that a 30-mile (48-km) section would move all at once is extremely [unusual] ... it's the first time in 14 years of running trips that that happened," Arctic Kingdom's president and chief expedition officer Graham Dickson notes.

The incident took place on Monday night, as the tourists were on an adventure holiday. Major Steve Neta of the Royal Canadian Air Force mentioned that the 18 Canadians and two US tourists have now been safely brought to shore.

"Nobody was in any immediate danger at any time," Dickson mentions.

He adds that precautions are in order when crossing the unstable icy slabs in the Canadian Arctic.

"They were moving and whenever you're on moving ice you have to take precautions because if it keeps moving or if it were starting to break up, then that could be dangerous. [...] So you need to anticipate what could happen."

The tourists were brought supplies by the Canadian military until being rescued on Wednesday. Helicopters were dispatched from Eureka on Ellesmere Island, The Guardian reports.

The travelers were camping on the ice floe in the Arctic Bay area when it broke apart from the island, due to unfavorable weather.

"What was unique right now is there was a supermoon a couple of days ago. There was a very large tide that combined with a strong wind from the South," Dickson tells ABC News.

"As a result, we believe it raised a lot of ice with the tide and then the wind pushed some very large ice inlets - as much as 30 miles (48 km) in size--out away from the shore," he explains.