"Inuit people call for Canadian government to send icebreaker to free pod of mammals that are struggling to surface for air."

"Canadian Inuit people and authorities are attempting to help a pod of killer whales trapped in the sea ice of Hudson Bay.

The mayor of the remote Inuit community of Inukjuak, Quebec, is calling on the government to send an icebreaker to save the panicking mammals, who are taking turns breathing through a hole in the ice about the size of a pick-up truck in the frigid waters.

'They are trapped,' mayor Peter Inukpuk told CBC radio on Wednesday. 'It appears from time to time that they panic. Other times they are gone for a long time, probably looking for another open space, which they are not able to find at the moment.'

He said a hunter first spotted the whales on Tuesday. There were 11 whales, including several small ones, which could mean they are all from the same family."

The Guardian had the story January 9, 2013. [2]