A man from the Rural Municipality of Alexander is presumed drowned, after his all-terrain vehicle fell through the ice early Thursday morning.

Powerview RCMP received a report at approximately one o'clock this morning of an ATV attempting to cross the Winnipeg River, followed by calls for help.

Officers immediately attended to the area and as they approached the river from an address located on Penelope Close, in the RM of Alexander, they could hear the calls for help from a man who was in the water and hanging onto the ice.

The officers, along with a volunteer firefighter who lived close by, grabbed a life jacket and several rescue ropes and walked out onto the ice. As they attempted to reach the male, he began to struggle in the water where he then went under and did not resurface.

The 42-year-old male, from the RM of Alexander, is presumed drowned.

It was learned that two men, each one on an ATV, were attempting to cross the river when both machines broke through the thin layer of ice. One of the ATV operators, a 37-year-old male from Great Falls, was able to pull himself out of the water. He was taken to a nearby residence where he was treated by EMS for hypothermia.

Powerview RCMP along with assistance from the RCMP Underwater Recovery Team continue to investigate.