Crews face frigid waters to save trapped deer

BERKS COUNTY, PA -- A deer needed some help after it fell through some thin ice in Pennsylvania last weekend.

Officials with the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission and the Army Corps of Engineers risked their lives to rescue the helpless animal.

PHOTOS: Deer rescued from icy pond in Pennsylvania

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Officer Steve Martin said two men with a canoe went to work to help the deer, and that the animal may have died without them.

"Due to the thickness of the ice, it became apparent that, first of all, the deer was extremely exhausted," Martin said.

"He was not going to be able to get out on its own."

The men swam through the frigid waters as rescuers used ice picks to clear a path for the deer to swim to shore.

Once back on shore, the deer scrambled into the gamelands, Martin said.

Crews from the Mount Pleasant Fire Company also appeared to help the animal to safety.