Five fishermen were airlifted from an ice floe last night after abandoning their vessel in the Notre Dame Bay area on the northeast coast of Newfoundland.

Maj. Martell Thompson, with the Joint Rescue Co-ordination Centre in Halifax, said the crew abandoned the DLL Venture when the vessel started rapidly taking on water.

According to Thompson, the fishermen took refuge on an ice floe until help arrived.

"They abandoned to a raft and then they were able to make it onto the ice floe, where they were able to make themselves relatively comfortable. They were able to start a fire and wait it out until help came," he said.

Thompson said search and rescue technicians from 103 Squadron in Gander, N.L., managed to hoist all five crew members to safety aboard a Cormorant helicopter.

The fishermen were flown to the town of La Scie, N.L.

None of them required medical attention.