Three men survived a harrowing experience on the Stewart River on Wednesday when their jet boat capsized west of Mayo.

The boaters were pitched into the glacial waters near Fraser Falls, about 40 kilometres upriver from the village, at around 5:45 p.m.

They had a satellite phone and called for help.

All three men — aged 35, 48 and 74 from Whitehorse, Fort St. John, B.C., and Pouce Coupe, B.C., respectively — were able to reach shore, though one ended up on the opposite bank from the other two.

No names were released.

Drenched in frigid water, they started fires to keep themselves warm until RCMP officers from Mayo arrived via Trans North Helicopters within the hour.

The trio were transported back to the Mayo Health Centre for assessment, police said.

There were no serious injuries.

The group's supplies were lost.

"The biggest obstacle was the fact that the boaters were separated by the river on two separate banks,” said Mayo RCMP Cpl. Chris Hutchings, who co-ordinated the effort from the detachment.

"This situation highlights why it is so important to wear a life jacket at all times while on a boat and carry emergency supplies such as satellite phones and SPOT beacons when recreating in the backcountry,” he said.

The incident lent renewed urgency to the push for 911 services in the Yukon outside of Whitehorse.

One of the boaters had to resort to calling his wife in Whitehorse, roughly 300 kilometres away as the crow flies, because he didn't know the seven-digit number for the local RCMP.

His wife looked up the number and relayed information on the group's location and predicament to police in Mayo as minutes ticked by.

"The group could have called our number, 996-5555 — but that presumes that they would have known that in advance, because they're not from here,” Hutchings said.

Community Services Minister Brad Cathers said this week he has spoken with officials at the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) to pave the way for Northwestel Inc. to apply for an interim 911 system.

The system would allow Yukoners outside 911 range — anywhere beyond the Whitehorse area — to dial 911 from a landline and choose from "autoselect options.”

Residents could dial 1 for police, 2 for fire and 3 for ambulance, connecting them with local responders.

While a satellite phone may not have been able to connect with such a service were it even in place, the incident served as a reminder of the need for a universally recognized emergency helpline.

As it stands, people in emergency scenarios can dial one of three seven-digit numbers, which differ in each community, to reach one of the three responders.

Earlier this month, Cathers could not offer a timeline to the Star for what he perceives will be a phased approach to full 911 service across the territory.

"Anytime you're working with a lot of partners, there are logistical issues that need to be dealt with,” he said, adding that Northwestel would have to make "systems upgrades.”

On May 7, a house fire that threatened the life of a young man in Dawson City drew attention to the lack of 911 services in the communities.

The man who rescued the occupant of the burning house shouted for a nearby resident to call 911, despite himself being a decades-long resident of the town, Dawson Fire Chief Jim Regimbal said at the time.

"So it still goes to show that 911 is definitely needed in the outlying communities,” said Regimbal, a member of the Association of Yukon Fire Chiefs.

"This has been ongoing for quite some time, to no avail. It's disturbing that it's not in the communities, and it's something like this that hits home.”

Liberal Leader and Klondike MLA Sandy Silver says the territorial government has stalled for too long on bringing efficient emergency phone service beyond the Whitehorse area.

"This government has clearly made a determination that full 911 service is not a full priority for them in the Yukon,” Silver said in an interview after the Dawson house fire.

He highlighted what he saw as a misleading characterization in Cathers' use of "911,” pointing to a letter to the government from the CRTC.

"The Yukon interim rural 911 emergency response access system service proposed in your letter does not meet basic 911 or enhanced 911 service definitions,” the CRTC stated in the letter, dated March 24.

"In order for CRTC to consider something 911, there must be a verbal exchange of information (with a central dispatcher),” Silver insisted last month.

"The system the minister did test in all Yukon communities does not include this essential exchange.”