The U.S. Coast Guard is attempting to rescue a group of 20 people trapped in the middle of Lake Erie in Ohio.
The group somehow ended up stuck on a piece of floating ice on Sunday, according to the Coast Guard. The floe broke away from the mainland while people were snowmobiling, stranding the drivers on the lake.
“Mass rescue of 20 people underway with @USCG Station Marblehead airboat and Air Station Detroit helicopter near [Catwaba Island] in [Lake Erie],” the Great Lakes Coast Guard said in a statement on Twitter. “Ice floe broke away while people were snowmobiling, etc. Good Samaritan with airboat also assisting.”
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#BREAKING Mass rescue of 20 people underway with @USCG Station Marblehead airboat and Air Station Detroit helicopter near #CatawbaIsland in #LakeErie. Ice floe broke away while people were snowmobiling, etc. Good Samaritan with airboat also assisting. #GreatLakesWinterSafety
— USCG Great Lakes (@USCGGreatLakes) February 6, 2022
At least 18 people had been rescued with no injuries as of 4 p.m., reported ABC13.
Purported residents of Catwaba Island posted footage of the rescue and claimed that police told them to leave the premises.
Rescue Operation taking place in Catwaba Island. Was told to leave by Catwaba Island Police. @NWSCLE @DerekWittWx @DeniseRogalins1 pic.twitter.com/5YIxEJDGxn
— Snow & Train Chaser Emerson Young (@JEmersonYoung1) February 6, 2022
“We were warning about this potential yesterday, and can see ice chunks drifting away from the southern shoreline of Lake Erie on satellite,” tweeted the National Weather Service in Cleveland. “We strongly urge people not to venture out onto Lake Erie this afternoon!”
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Representatives from the Great Lakes Coast Guard did not respond to requests for information from the Washington Examiner.
