Operation Break Through

October 7, 1988, Inupiaq hunter Roy Ahmaogak discovered three gray whales trapped in pack ice in the Beaufort Sea near Point Barrow in the U.S. state of Alaska.
The hunter used a chainsaw to attempt cutting a path in the ice leading to open water. Fellow villagers helped the hunter by using water pumps to keep ice from reforming overnight. Word spread through the Inupiat community about the whales, and biologists from North Slope Borough, Alaska, visited the site and realized the danger.
The whales' plight gained more attention from the media as journalists called North Slope Borough and flew to the site.
‪#‎OperationBreakthrough‬ was an international effort to free three gray whales from pack ice in the Beaufort Sea near Point Barrow in the U.S. state of Alaska in 1988. The whales' plight generated media attention that led to the collaboration of multiple governments and organizations to free them.
The story of the trapped whales was made into the Hollywood movie "Big Miracle" starring Drew Barrymore.
‪#‎TBT‬ ‪#‎ThrowbackThursday‬
350WR AA0007 001 © Jeff Schultz Photography / Alaska Stock