Nunavut walrus hunters rescued after harrowing 6-hour wait on capsized boat

A walrus hunt turned into a life-and-death situation for three hunters from Sanirajak, Nunavut, on Saturday. 

At the floe edge near the community of about 900 people, the men set out on a small aluminum boat after spotting and shooting the walrus, according to search and rescue volunteers who spoke to the hunters.

As the men drew close enough to haul it up, the walrus struck the boat with its tusks and tried to climb on board.

Two of the hunters fell in the water. As the third man was falling in, he grabbed hard at the side of the boat to flip it over with enough air inside to stay afloat.

He kicked the walrus away and pulled his companions out of the freezing water.

Local search-and-rescue volunteers received the hunters' distress call around 2 p.m. It was -20 C at the time, according to weather data from Environment and Climate Change Canada.

But strong ocean currents and moving ice meant they had to wait six hours — until the sun set and the ice had hardened — before the hunters could crawl across the ice to safety.

George Innuksuk, one of the volunteers, said the rescue became more difficult when one of the volunteers was injured on the way to help the stranded men.

"I thought, what else can go wrong?" he told CBC News in Inuktitut. "We kept our calm and continued the rescue mission."

He said he is grateful everyone survived.

The community held a feast Monday night to celebrate the hunters' rescue.