LONDON, ONT. -- A pair of hikers stranded on a ice floe near Tobermory had to be be rescued by provincial police over the weekend.

Emergency crews were called to Cyprus Lake Road at Bruce Peninsula National Park around 2:30 p.m. Sunday.

The hikers had been walking on the ice when a large piece broke away from the shoreline, drifting into Georgian Bay.

A concerned citizen dialed 911, "They better hurry. This is getting wider and wider as we speak," said the caller.

"OK, how are you guys doing?" asked a 911 operator to one of the hikers.

"We were kind of panicking because the water came in so fast," the unidentified hiker said on the phone.

A JRCC Hercules aircraft was called in and located them almost three kilometres from shore.

“The ice had just let go from the shore. They were now drifting and it was too far to swim back and they really didn’t know what to do,” says Grey-Bruce OPP Const. Rick Sadler.

“Their ice jam got sort of caught up on some other ice in the bay and that left them stationary which was good, but also left them too far from shore to attempt any other type of rescue, other than from the air,” he adds.

An OPP helicopter had to hover over the pair and conduct an ice rescue, returning them to shore.

No one was hurt.

"This was amazing team work by all of the involved services. Everyone worked together to safely rescue these hikers. This situation could have ended in tragedy," said Grey Bruce OPP Acting Insp. Debra Anderson in a statement.

OPP want to remind the public to always check conditions before venturing out on the ice.

Always dress for the weather, have a safety plan and travel with a partner.

- With files from CTV's Scott Miller