About a dozen killer whales that were trapped under sea ice appear to have reached safety after the floating ice shifted on Canada's Hudson Bay.

Two hunters from Inukjuak village reported the water had opened up around the area where the cornered whales had been bobbing frantically for air.

Locals said the mammals had been trapped around a single, truck-sized breathing hole for at least two days.

Village leader Tommy Palliser said villagers had been planning to launch a rescue operation.

But he says the winds seemed to shift overnight, pushing the floating ice further away from shore to open up the water.

Mayor Peter Inukpuk had urged the Canadian government to send an icebreaker.

A hunter first spotted the pod of about a dozen trapped whales at the hole, which is on the eastern shore of the Hudson Bay. Inukjuak is about 900 miles north of Montreal.

Dozens of villagers made the one-hour snowmobile ride to see the unusual spectacle. They snapped photos and shot video footage of the killer whales surfacing in the opening and even thrusting themselves skyward while gasping for air.