U.S. Coast Guard Rescues 18 People from Floating Ice Sheet on Lake Erie

The United States Coast Guard and a good Samaritan successfully rescued 18 people who were on an ice floe that separated from shore.

The mass rescue was conducted on February 6 near Catawba Island Township in Ohio after snowmobilers became stranded on the floe, according to tweets from Coast Guard Great Lakes.

Dustin Shaffer, a pilot with Island Air Taxi, saw the individuals and alerted the Coast Guard that they were stranded, the Toledo Blade reported.

Shaffer told the outlet:

The Coast Guard [helicopter] was taking off from Port Clinton. I got on the radio and said, “There’s a huge crack that’s just opened up. There’s a bunch of guys stuck on the wrong side of the crack, can you guys go check on them?” I knew they all needed help because there’s no way back.

In a news release, the Coast Guard Great Lakes said that rescue efforts started at 1:00 p.m. when an MH-65 Dolphin helicopter spotted the individuals on the floating ice sheet “with several ATVs looking for a route back to land.” The aircraft was from the Detroit Air Station, the Coast Guard said in a tweet.

“The helicopter lowered its rescue swimmer and began hoisting operations while Station Marblehead’s airboat got underway,” the release stated. Seven people were loaded onto the helicopter.

Once the airboat arrived, it successfully extracted another four people from the floe, and a good Samaritan, who had an airboat on the scene, rescued seven more individuals, according to the release. All individuals were saved, and no one required medical attention, though emergency medical personnel were standing by. No one fell through the ice, the Toledo Blade reported.

The Coast Guard urged people to “take precautions, not chances” when engaging in recreational activities on the ice.”Remember to dress appropriately for the water temperature, not the air temperature; to wear a life jacket and carry a reliable form of communication; and to carry icepicks or screwdrivers that can help them self-rescue if they go through the ice,” the release said.

“There’s no such thing as safe ice, but people can mitigate their risks,” said Lt. j.g. Jeremiah Schiessel, from Coast Guard Sector Detroit. “Always be sure to tell someone where you’re going and when you expect to be back. Great Lakes ice is unpredictable, and conditions can change fast.”