One man is dead after falling through the ice near Haymarket.
Fire and rescue crews were called to a golf course at the intersection of Erin Blair Loop and Piedmont Vista Drive in the Piedmont subdivision after three people walked out onto a pond measuring 200 feet long by 70 feet wide.
The call went out at 10 p.m. for a possible drowning and was upgraded to people in the water. Crews pulled one person from the ice and water 2o minutes after arriving on the scene.
About 10 minutes later, they found and pulled a second victim from the water. Fire crews did not identify any of the victims. All were taken to a local hospital by ambulance.
A police helicopter from Fairfax County called to airlift a victim to a hospital was called off.
According to initial reports, rescue crews found broken ice in the area where the victims were found. Rescue crews spotted a pair of shoes that had belonged to the victim on the ice.
Temperatures plummeted in the hours leading up to the water rescue. A passing cold front caused temperatures to fall from the 50s during the day to 14 degrees by the evening., with a wind chill factor making it feel like sub-zero conditions.
“The recent cold snap may have many people thinking about exploring the ice on area ponds and other bodies of water,” a Prince William County fire and rescue press release states. “Our local ice is dangerous at any time. The Prince William County Fire and Rescue System urges everyone to stay off the ice. Small children and pets should always be supervised near any body of water.”
