A chance sighting by a pilot flying a small plane over Lake Laberge likely saved a woman's life early this week.

The pilot was flying over the lake just outside Whitehorse just before 1 p.m. on Monday when he spotted a woman in a small open boat who appeared to be stuck in the ice jam created by the river current.

When he circled over the boat a second time, the woman waved at him, indicating she needed help.

The pilot radioed air traffic control, who in turn contacted the RCMP.

An officer was able to spot the boat from land, but could not safely launch the RCMP jet boat from the shore of the lake, so officers left from Whitehorse and followed the river to Lake Laberge, according to police.

It took the officers numerous attempts, but they eventually reached the woman. They brought her safely to shore, where she told the officers she had been out on the water for two, possibly three days.

"All she had in there was a single paddle,” RCMP spokesman Sgt. Don Rogers said today.

"There was no lifejacket. There was no motor or means of propulsion. The boat was in no shape to be there. She had a very small amount of food, certainly not enough to sustain her.

"It wasn't a situation she was going to get out of without assistance. If she had tried to walk across the ice, this would have ended in a fatality.”

In spite of her long stay on the lake, the woman did not appear to be in any physical distress, Rogers said.

The woman was taken to Whitehorse General Hospital, where she was treated and released, according to a hospital official.

Her name was not made public.

"We would like to thank the pilot who noticed this person and set into motion the chain of events which eventually led to her being rescued by our members,” Rogers said.