Ice groomer breaks through ice, 1 dead

A man operating an ice-road grooming machine was killed when it went through the ice of a northwestern Ontario lake.

An Ontario Provincial Policedive team recovered the body of Henry Meekis, 56, of Deer Lake First Nation on Sunday.

Witnesses said Meekis was operating a Bombardier groomer on Deer Lake on Friday. They saw his machine go through the ice, and notified community members that he had been unable to get off the groomer in time.

The community is about 700 kilometres northwest of Thunder Bay.

There have been a number of incidents in the last couple of weeks involving vehicles and snow machines going through ice in northwestern Ontario, police said.