'I've never seen anything like that anywhere, ever': Ice cut into strange shapes by Canadian bridge

A pilot has snapped an incredible picture of strange geometric patterns formed by ice being cut up as it passed underneath Canada's longest bridge.

Paul Tymstra, who runs a flight school, took the photo while on a training session as he was preparing his descent into Charlottetown, the capital of Prince Edward Island (PEI) – a province off the east coast of the country.

Looking down on the Confederation Bridge – which spans 12,900 metres over the Northumberland Strait, connecting PEI with mainland New Brunswick – Tymstra noticed the unusual phenomenon.

"Just to the west of the bridge, it's all a solid sheet," Tymstra told CBC News, "but when it went underneath the Confederation Bridge, it's like it sliced it, and how it broke off so evenly, I thought 'wow'. As far as I could see, those squares were going on for miles and miles, and it's just a very interesting sight."

Tymstra let go of the controls for a brief moment to take the snap, initially not thinking much of it.

It was only later when he showed his wife he realised how strange the pattern was, deciding to post it on social media – where it has since been shared more than 1,000 times.

"I've never seen anything like that anywhere, ever," Tymstra said. "It's quite remarkable."

The bridge is extremely durable, having been constructed to withstand very low temperatures, high winds and huge ice flows.