The United States Coast Guard had its hands full Saturday morning, rescuing ice fishermen from western Lake Erie.
The Coast Guard station at Marblehead, Ohio received a call shortly after 8 a.m. from a representative at the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) concerning people on an ice floe that had broken free off Catawba Island in Lake Erie. According to a release from the USCG, there were about a hundred ice fishermen on the floe and up to 40 people in the water.
The USCG District 9 Command Center launched two 20-foot Special Purpose Craft–airboats from Station Marblehead, two MH-65 Dolphin helicopters from Air Station Detroit, and two MH-60 Jayhawk helicopters from Air Station Traverse City to help with a mass rescue. Several northwest Ohio fire departments also assisted in the rescue, along with two EMS companies and the ODNR.
The first Coast Guard units arrived on scene at 8:50 a.m. according to the release and no one was seen in the water. Those who fell in or tried and failed to swim for shore were all back on land.
About a hundred people were able to walk back to shore on their own on ice that was still unbroken, but that ice began to break as the temperature rose. The remaining fishermen were rescued by USCG and emergency airboat and helicopter crews. The rescue was completed by 11:15 a.m. with no reports of serious injuries.
Despite the rescue taking place on U.S. waters, ice conditions on Lake Erie as a whole may not be ideal for ice fishing, especially with rising temperatures in the forecast. The Coast Guard is urging people not to go out on the ice. While the ice may look safe, appearances can be deceiving, and milder temperatures will only make the ice thinner and more dangerous.