Authorities rescued 66 people stranded on ice floes after ice fishing Thursday, Fox News reported.
The U.S. Coast Guard worked with several other first responder agencies to save individuals stranded in a bay in Door County, Wisconsin after three separate ice floes broke away from the shore, the Coast Guard said, according to Fox News.
Wild story out of Door County — 66 ice fishermen were trapped near Sturgeon Bay after winds cracked the ice and they started floating away from shore. Helicopters and airboats were used to rescue all of them, though most of that fishing gear is still out there. Whoa. pic.twitter.com/7zUt5tp7kV
— Carl Deffenbaugh (@CarlDeff) February 5, 2021
Ice Rescue teams from Coast Guard operations in Sturgeon Bay worked with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, helicopter teams from Traverse City, Michigan, and other agencies to accomplish the rescue in four hours, Fox News reported. None of the ice fishermen were injured in the course of the ordeal, as reported by Fox News. (RELATED: Missing 17-Year-Old Built Snowcave To Survive Until Rescuers Arrived)
The ice floes were pushed away from the shore because of high winds linked to an incoming winter storm, according to Fox News.
“Today’s success is a direct result of effective training and the long standing and close relationships with our agency partners in the greater Sturgeon Bay Area,” Cmdr. Bryan Swintek, Coast Guard Sector Lake Michigan search and rescue coordinator, said, according to Fox News.