A man is dead after driving a snowmobile off an embankment and plummeting 20 metres on to a frozen river in western Manitoba on Sunday, police said.

RCMP said the man, 29, was travelling northbound on a snowmobile trail in the rural municipality of Riverdale, about 15 kilometres southeast of Rivers, Man., when it appears he drove over the edge of a ravine bank, dropping about 20 metres before landing on the frozen Little Saskatchewan River.

The man, who is from Oakview, Man., was pronounced dead at the scene, according to RCMP. The crash was reported at about 5 p.m. Sunday. Rivers is a community located about 220 kilometres west of Winnipeg.

RCMP said the man was wearing a helmet at the time of the crash. It's unknown whether alcohol or speed played a factor.

Members of the Rivers-Daly Fire Department responded to the crash with rescue equipment, according to Fire Chief Richard Brown.

"We've got a rescue toboggan and a skidoo that we took down there with a couple of firefighters," he said, adding that aside from the snow, conditions weren't bad for the responders to work in.

Brown said firefighters with the department train for similar rescues on a yearly basis.

He said paramedics with Brandon's fire department also responded and tried doing CPR on the man, but ultimately couldn't revive him.

"It's just a very unfortunate situation," said Brown. "You just feel bad for the family and everybody involved. It's pretty heartbreaking for a small community, especially for a small town fire department."

The Rivers Police Service has taken over the investigation, RCMP said Monday.

It was the second fatal crash involving a snowmobile in Manitoba over the weekend. RCMP said a 33-year-old man from Winnipeg died Saturday after losing control of his snowmobile in the rural municipality of Alexander.

Police said in that case, it appeared the man lost control of his snowmobile, veered off the path and collided with a tree.