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Truck falls through frozen Canadian lake during shortcut attempt

By Ben Hooper
A drive across Manitoba's frozen Lake Winnipeg appears to be going well -- for the moment. Screenshot: Storyful
A drive across Manitoba's frozen Lake Winnipeg appears to be going well -- for the moment. Screenshot: Storyful

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March 15 (UPI) -- A Canadian couple who tried to take a shortcut across a frozen Manitoba lake ended up with their truck's fall through the ice captured in a Facebook Live video.

Ko'ona Cochrane was streaming video on Facebook Live Tuesday afternoon while her partner drove their truck across the frozen surface of Lake Winnipeg.

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Cochrane said they were traveling from their home in Manigotagan, on the east side of the lake, to her mother's home in Peguis, on the west side.

"We figured we would save two hours by going from Manigotagan across the lake," Cochrane told CBC News.

She said it's normally safe to drive on the frozen lake and she had seen ice fishing shacks that implied the ice was sufficiently thick.

The video shows the couple approach a crack in the ice. Cochrane's partner slows the vehicle, but it quickly breaks through the ice.

"Bail, bail!" the man can be heard shouting.

The couple made it out of the truck, but the vehicle sank in about a minute. A wooden box containing clothing and some other items floated to the surface, but the rest of the truck and its contents were lost.

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Cochrane said she and her partner weren't injured -- except for her ego.

"[It's a] really, really incredibly big bruise on my ego," she said.

Manitoba Royal Canadian Mounted Police said there is currently a strong current traveling under the ice, making it particularly dangerous for driving.

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