20 people stuck on floating ice in Lake Erie off Ohio shore – WHIO TV 7 and WHIO Radio
CATAWBA ISLAND, Ohio — At least 20 people are trapped on floating ice on Lake Erie off the Ohio shore, the U.S. Coast Guard said Sunday.
Coast Guard officials said rescue operations were “underway” to bring the people back. They were stuck near Catawba Island when the ice floe broke away as they were snowmobiling, WTOL-TV reported.
Catawba Island is located halfway between Cleveland and Toledo.
The Coast Guard Station Marblehead’s airboat, along with a helicopter from Air Station Detroit, are working on the rescue effort, according to WTOL.
On Saturday, the National Weather Service in Cleveland warned about the possibility of drifting ice, WTVG-TV reported.
“Dangerous ice conditions could develop causing people to become trapped on the ice,” the agency said Saturday.
On Feb. 7, 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 when a chunk of ice nearly eight miles wide broke loose and floated about 2,950 feet from the shoreline, WTOL reported.
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