18 rescued from Lake Erie ice floe in northwest Ohio
The Coast Guard said the ice floe broke away from land while people were snowmobiling and riding ATVs on the lake just after 12 p.m.
CATAWBA ISLAND, Ohio — Eighteen people were rescued Sunday afternoon after they were trapped on Lake Erie ice off of Catawba Island in northwest Ohio, according to the U.S Coast Guard.
The Coast Guard said 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 says an Air Station Detroit helicopter noticed the large group of people on the ice floe.
Coast Guard Station Marblehead’s airboat also assisted in the rescue as did a private citizen who had an airboat on the scene.
No injuries were reported.
On Saturday, the National Weather Service issued a warning for people to stay off the ice on Lake Erie. Wind gusts this weekend have made it likely that ice floes will break away from the shore, the weather service said.
In 2009, similar weather conditions caused an ice floe to break away in Ottawa County. One man died and 130 other people had to be rescued that day, Feb. 7, 2009, when a chunk of ice nearly eight miles wide came loose and floated about 2,950 feet from the shoreline near Oak Harbor.
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