SASKATOON, Saskatchewan, March 3 (UPI) -- A three-story icicle was removed from an apartment building in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canadian officials said.

The icicle, which made Canadian and American headlines, was slowly cut down by crews on Friday, The StarPhoenix, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, reported.


"I'm saying this thing has got be at least three, four thousand pounds," said Erik Foster, one of two men hired to dismantle the icicle. Foster said he had to replace the blades of his chainsaw several times as he sawed away at the ice.

The owner of the building hired Foster to remove the icicle after he received an order from the Saskatoon Fire and Protective Services on Thursday to remove it within 24 hours.

Foster said the operation to remove the icicle cost the building owner "thousands of dollars."

"Preventative maintenance could have dealt with all of this. As soon as they saw that leaking like that, they should have called someone. It would have taken us a couple of hours, cost a couple hundred dollars, and it would have been fixed. Now, you are talking some real money," Foster said.