Trapped whales break through ice

QUEBEC. -- A family of at least twelve orcas swam into warm Canadian waters but when temperatures dropped, they became trapped under the ice.

In some amateur video the whales can be seen trying to break through a thick blanket of ice as people watched helplessly.

They were trapped under a hole no bigger than a truck, struggling for air.

"I don't know how far it is to the next air hole, but I don't imagine they do either.  That's why they are coming up and looking with that spy hopping behavior that they're showing," said Joe Gaydos, Senior Wildlife Veterinarian at UC.

Luckily, winds shifted overnight, creating a passageway to the open sea 6 miles away.

It's much like the recent movie, "A Big Miracle" based on the rescue of a group of whales trapped in ice back in 1988.