A man who broke through the ice while walking on a Burnsville pond has died.

The incident occurred about 2:30 p.m. Monday at Sunset Pond Park, near County Road 42 and Burnsville Parkway, according to the Dakota County Sheriff's Office.

The identity of the man, in his 40s and a county resident, has not been released.

A passerby called authorities about the man going through the ice, said Tim Leslie, chief deputy of the Dakota County Sheriff's Office. Fire Department personnel removed him from the water, and he was transported to a nearby hospital where he died Tuesday night, the Sheriff's Office added.

Leslie said this incident should remind everyone, whether it's in vehicles or on foot, to stay off the ice at this time of year.

Paul Walsh