STOCKHOLM, (Reuters Life!) – Hundreds of reindeer  crossing a frozen lake above Sweden’s Arctic Circle for their  annual migration to winter grazing grounds drowned this week as  the ice collapsed beneath them.

The herd of roughly 3,000 reindeer were being moved by their  Sami herders from the western shore of the frozen lake Kutjaure  to the east when some reindeer at the front suddenly turned  back, causing the ice to crack and several hundreds to drown.

“In the ensuing commotion the whole herd moved in circles,  adding great pressure and weight on the ice,” said Erik  Gustavsson, a manager at the County Administrative Board of  Norrbotten.

The reindeer crashed through the ice and then trampled on  each other as they tried to climb out of the water, he said.