ANCHORAGE: A German couple were among three people found dead this week in the icy waters of a glacier-fed lake in Alaska.

A 62-year-old recreational guide and the couple had been canoeing before their bodies were discovered Tuesday near the toe of Valdez Glacier, officials in the port town of Valdez said Wednesday. Their names weren’t immediately released.

The glacier is dropping chunks of ice into the water. City spokeswoman Sheri Pierce said the cause of the deaths is under investigation but that it’s possible falling ice or ice moving in the water knocked them out of the inflatable canoe. Pierce emphasized that it’s not clear what happened because there were no witnesses.

“The glacier is shedding ice. It’s a very dangerous situation to be back towards the toe of a glacier when you have those types of unstable, large pieces of ice in the water,” she said.

(Agencies)