A man has died after falling through ice on Nicola Lake.

The incident happened on Saturday when a man was ice fishing, and was going out to check a fishing rod, according to Merritt RCMP Staff Sgt. Lorne Wood.

Wood tells NL News the incident happened at Nicola Bay, near the N’Kwala Beach RV Park off of Highway 5A, about 30 kilometres north of Merritt.

“As he was walking onto the ice, the ice gave way and he went into the lake. One of the neighbours observed this and tried to help him out but was unable to get him out of the water, just due to the thin ice. We were called, fire rescue, search and rescue, ambulance. Unfortunately the individual did succumb due to the cold water.”

The victim is a Nicola Valley man in his 60s, according to BC Coroners Service spokesperson Andy Watson, who say they are investigating a sudden and unexpected passing.

Wood says Nicola Bay is a sheltered part the lake that usually has a solid base of ice, but he says rising temperatures are melting ice quickly.

“The ice actually seems to be coming off the larger bodies of water and thinning out and getting rotten a lot sooner this year. So for anybody going out ice fishing, the big thing is to be really careful and drill some test holes. Because I know the ice in this case was very much honeycombed and – to use the term – the ice was rotten, near that part of the lake,” Wood says.

“When the ice turns, gets that sort of off-white color and starts to sag, and you can see the honeycombs, it’s best to stay off it. Because it’s very unstable.”

Watch this story for more updates.