Troopers name 2 dead after ATVs crash through river ice

ANCHORAGE, Alaska – Alaska State Troopers have released the names of two Akiak men who died after their all-terrain vehicles crashed through ice on the Kuskokwim River.

Troopers say 47-year old Nelson Jackson and 59-year-old Ernest Demantle died Sunday. Their bodies were transported to Bethel Monday.

The men were among five people travelling from Bethel to Akiak on the two ATVs that crashed through the ice Sunday night.

Three people made it out of the river and were transported to Bethel Hospital for treatment of hypothermia.

Troopers have identified the survivors as 55-year-old Raymond Lee of Bethel and Akiak residents, 43-year-old Reuben Charles and 32-year-old Lawrence Charles.

Troopers say travel conditions are no longer safe on area rivers and lakes because of weak ice and multiple open holes.