Eighteen people were rescued Sunday afternoon from an ice floe that broke away from land near Catawba Island on Lake Erie in northwest Ohio. According to the U.S Coast Guard, the ice floe broke away from land while people were snowmobiling and riding ATVs on the lake just after 12 p.m.
The Coast Guard said rescue efforts began around 1 p.m., when a helicopter from Air Station Detroit noticed the people with ATVs trapped on an ice floe and looking for a route back to land. The helicopter lowered a rescue swimmer and began hoisting operations while an airboat from Station Marblehead was brought in for assistance. The helicopter hoisted seven people from the ice floe, four were rescued by the airboat and the seven were rescued by the civilian with the airboat. None of the people rescued required medical attention, according to the Coast Guard.
The National Weather Service in Cleveland said on Sunday that it had been “warning about this potential yesterday, and can see ice chunks drifting away from the southern shoreline of Lake Erie on satellite. We strongly urge people not to venture out onto Lake Erie this afternoon!”
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