The men were in one of the dome-shaped tents, and it began to stretch apart as the ice opened.

A muffled sound, suggestive of suffocation, came from beneath the stretching tent.

I rushed forward, helped some emerging men from under the canvas, and called out, "Are you all right ?" "There are two in the water," somebody answered.

The crack had widened to about four feet, and as I threw myself down at the edge, I saw a whitish object floating in the water.

It was a sleeping-bag with a man inside.