A man is alive today thanks to the heroic actions of bystanders who had just minutes to rescue a canoer who fell into freezing water last week.

On November 9, at about 3:20 p.m., Lundar RCMP received a report of a person in distress on the waters of Lake Manitoba, located near the shore of Venice Road South, in St Laurent.

The caller reported she could hear a man calling for help out on the water. She requested an ambulance and explained that two bystanders were going to head out onto the water and attempt to retrieve him.

Officers from Lundar and Ashern attended and were told that two bystanders had located a canoe on the shore and paddled out to assist the 61-year-old male who was clearly in medical distress.

The 61-year-old, from Garson, was pulled from the water and brought to shore. He was met by EMS and taken to hospital, where he is reported to be in stable condition.

The 61-year-old told the officers that he was fishing in his canoe when he attempted to move some gear, lost his footing, and fell into the water. He attempted to get back into his canoe, but he stated, within minutes, the cold water took his strength away and all he could do was call out for help.

"If it were not for the quick actions taken by these three individuals, this situation would have ended tragically," said Sgt. James Munro, Detachment Commander of the Lundar/Ashern RCMP. "With the current temperature of the water, these three only had minutes to act and respond, and thankfully they did."

St. Laurent is approximately 70 km northwest of Winnipeg, on the east shore of Lake Manitoba.