Detroit Coast Guard helicopter assists with rescue of 4 from Lake Erie ice floe
OTTAWA COUNTY, Ohio (CBS DETROIT) - The Coast Guard's Air Station Detroit helicopter crew assisted on an ice rescue call Tuesday afternoon in Lake Erie, near Catawba Island State Park in Ottawa County, Ohio.
A total of four people were found to be stranded on an ice floe after the emergency call was made about 4:30 p.m., according to the Coast Guard report.
Coast Guard Station Marblehead's air boat crew reported about 5:37 p.m. they had rescued three of those people; the Catawba Island Volunteer Fire Department rescued a fourth.
In the meantime, the report said, the Detroit helicopter did an "overflight shoreline search" to make sure no other anglers were in distress.
Other local first responder agencies on the call included Catawba Island Police Department and EMS.
Ice started to increase on Lake Erie during the past three weeks, with the lake at 87% ice coverage on Tuesday, according to the Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory. But ice fishing season also has its dangers. The Ohio Department of Natural Resources is among the agencies that say "no ice is safe ice," and urge "special considerations" for those who wish to do that on Lake Erie.
"As we have been forecasting and warning for the past several days, strong winds out of the SW broke off large sections of ice creating the ice floe," the Catawba Island Fire Department said in its social media post about the incident. "This is typical for our area of Lake Erie. Because of that, we urge anyone who is going to venture out onto the ice to research weather forecasts in detail, and speak with local experts at bait and tackle shops, and ODNR before heading out."
Last week, Coast Guard Air Station Detroit was called to assist with a rescue of two people off an ice floe in Michigan's Saginaw Bay.
