'My friends fell through the ice,' woman recalls river survivor saying

A woman whose family helped two survivors of Wednesday's tragic Rideau River incident said a teen who emerged alive saved his sister and was upset his two friends were still in the water.

"'My friends fell through the ice,'" Carly Roome recalls the soaking wet teen saying Wednesday night.

"He was really, really upset," Roome added. "He had tried to save his friend."

Four teenagers had told family they were going skating before they went into the river near Nicholls Island Road, close to the community of Manotick south of Ottawa's core.

Two bodies have since been recovered and identified by family, friends and the Ontario coroner's office as Ahmed Ahmed, 17, and Riley Cotter, who is around the same age.

A vigil in Ahmed and Cotter's memory is planned at the site Friday night.

'He did everything he could'

Roome's family lives on Nicholls Island.

She said the survivor came to their door yelling for help around 9:30 p.m. wearing a t-shirt, socks and shorts and did not appear to have a phone.

The family called 911 right away and then went by the water to comfort him and his sister, providing blankets. Police arrived quickly, she said.

"He needed to save his friends," Roome said of what the freezing survivor told her. "He did everything he could.

"I really feel for [him]."

Carly Roome speaks from her family's home on Nicolls Island. Her family helped the two survivors, she said. (Nick Persaud/CBC)

The survivor and his sister were taken to hospital and treated for mild hypothermia, according to paramedics. A police diver was also hospitalized.

Ahmed and Cotter were students at John McCrae Secondary School, according a spokesperson for the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board. They said via email the deaths will be deeply felt by students and staff.

"Without diminishing other tragic incidents, it's so much worse that it happened this time of year," said Barrhaven East Coun. Wilson Lo, whose ward includes some of that school's families.

Wednesday's incident and others like it across Canada have officials warning about the dangers of venturing onto thin ice or near bodies of water.