A pod of killer whales is trapped in a small pool of water surrounded by ice in Hudson’s Bay, but icebreakers — the only machinery that can help to save them — are out of reach.

The orcas, rarely seen in the Arctic, were discovered by a hunter from the nearby village of Inukjuak, Que., some 30 km away, on Tuesday. A day later, the stunning video of at least a dozen distressed orcas taking turns continuously coming up for air, was posted on Facebook and YouTube by local residents in hopes it would get the attention of authorities.

On Wednesday, Inukjuak Mayor Petah Inukpuk urged the Department of Fisheries and Oceans to send an icebreaker as soon as possible to make additional holes in the ice to save the animals. But he was told by the ministry the icebreakers were down south and “out of reach.”

“That is the only solution for any chance of survival for those killer whales, but there is none nearby at the moment,” he said. Instead, the ministry is trying to determine how else the whales can be saved, said Inukpuk.

“We know the situation, we are aware about the situation and can confirm that a pod of killer whales is trapped in the ice in Inukjuak,” said Sylvia Racine, a spokesperson with the ministry.

“A team of experts from Fisheries and Oceans Canada is working very closely with its partner in Nunavik to evaluate the situation, but it’s too soon to know what will be the best solution.”

This is uncharted territory for both the humans and animals, say Arctic wildlife experts, who have never heard of orcas getting stranded in Arctic ice.

Andrew Trites, director of marine mammal research unit at the University of British Columbia, said it is only in the past few decades that orcas have been present in the region.

“The reason they can now access the Arctic, is because there is a lot less ice because of global warming,” said Trites.

In most cases, whales appear in the Arctic in the summer to feast on seals and belugas, and leave by October before the ice freezes, he said.

“It’s a sign that the whales got careless, had discovered new areas to feed and were familiar with it,” he said.

Trites said even whales adapted to the ice, such as belugas, have been known to become trapped and often die as a result. In this case, he believes the “fate” of the orcas “is sealed” without human intervention.

In the past the ice would be frozen over by Halloween, but this year, the ice didn’t freeze until after Christmas, said Mayor Inukpuk. Recently, the weather became very cold, causing the ice to freeze over very quickly, he said.

That’s when the whales became trapped.

Pete Ewins, an Arctic species expert with WWF Canada, said it appears there are around 20 or more whales in the video. Their situation is likely to get worse as the edge around their water hole begins to freeze.

“These whales can only stay underwater for a certain amount of time, and they know from their echolocation sonar that there just aren’t open water areas within the range of where they are now,” said Ewins.

He believes there are only three options available. One would be to let nature take its course, in which case some of the whales may survive until the ice melts three or four months from now.

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Other options would be to somehow create a channel to nearest open water area, or to destroy the whales if they become emaciated.

Inukpuk says a strong gust of wind from the east could also help the whales, by pushing the ice to open up a gap of water.

“But that’s an act of God and there’s nothing we can do.”