Kimnik, the husky that was traveling with the two Dutch explorers who went missing in Canada, has been found alive. The explorers are however suspected to have drowned, according to Canadian police.
On April 6, Philip de Roo and Marc Cornelissen left Canada to explore the North Pole and study melting ice. On April 29, the base camp for the exploration received an automated call to pick up de Roo and Cornelissen. The camp informed the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), which immediately sent out a rescue team.
A plane was sent to retrieve the Dutch explorers, but it was unable to land, as the ice was too thin to support its weight. The rescue team however noticed the equipment of the explorers lying adjacent to an open area of water. Canadian authorities believe that the Dutch explorers may have slipped on thin ice and drowned.
"On Wednesday April 29, 2015, Resolute Bay RCMP were advised that a distress call had been sent out by two expedition members from the Netherlands traveling on sea ice near Bathurst Island, approximately 200 kilometers north of Resolute Bay," according to a press release from the RCMP.
Cold Facts, the organization that organized the trip for the Dutch explorers, revealed that rescue efforts on April 30 and May 1 were canceled due to adverse weather conditions. The rescue operations started again on May 2, when the rescue team found Kimnik near the equipment of the explorers.
Rescue members say that Kinmik was hungry, but was otherwise in decent health. It is amazing that the dog survived the extreme weather conditions and continued to stay at the site of its companions.
"Kimnik is besides a little bit hungry doing well and will be reunited with her owner, the local wildlife ranger from Resolute. We thank Kimnik very much for her dedicated work protecting our team members Marc and Philip," read an update from Cold Facts.
Canadian authorities are hoping to recover the bodies of the Dutch explorers so that they can be given to their families.
