18 Rescued From Ice Sheet In Lake Erie, Coast Guard Says

CATAWBA ISLAND, OH — Eighteen people were rescued by helicopter and airboats over the weekend from a sheet of ice in Lake Erie near Catawba Island, Ohio, the U.S. Coast Guard said.

Around 1 p.m. Sunday, the ice sheet separated from land near the island, the Coast Guard said in a news release. Catawba Island is about 35 miles east of Toledo.

Helicopter rescuers arriving from a Detroit air station noticed about 20 people on an ice sheet with several ATVs and snowmobiles searching for a route back to land.

The helicopter lowered a rescue swimmer and hoisted people to safety while an airboat from Marblehead, Ohio, sped to the area. Seven people were airlifted off the sheet and four others were rescued by the airboat.

A passerby rescued the remaining seven in an airboat and took them ashore, the Coast Guard said.

No one needed medical attention.

Photos of the rescue showed guardsmen in orange wetsuits standing on the ice near an airboat, ATVs and snowmobiles. A large, blue bag labeled "fish trap" and large red cooler was attached to an ATV.

The Coast Guard reminded those who travel on ice for fun to take precautions, not chances. That includes:

• Dressing appropriately for frigid waters — not air temperatures.
• Wearing a life jacket
• Carrying a reliable form of communication
• Carrying ice picks or screwdrivers in case someone falls through the ice

“There’s no such thing as safe ice, but people can mitigate their risks,” Lt. j.g. Jeremiah Schiessel of the Coast Guard Sector Detroit said in a statement. “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.”

The National Weather Service in Cleveland had tweeted Saturday that ice drift was possible Sunday due to wind gusts up to 25 mph and cracks that were forming offshore.

"You are urged to stay off the ice on Lake Erie as there is the possibility that the ice will drift away from shore," the weather service said. "Dangerous ice conditions could develop causing people to become trapped on the ice."