Local authorities rescued 34 people that were floating away on a chunk of ice from the Green Bay shore Saturday.
The stranded group, largely consisting of ice fishermen, drifted away from the Wisconsin shoreline for about an hour and a half before being rescued, according to local WLUK Fox 11. The ice floe may have broken away from shore due to a barge.
The Brown County Sheriff’s Office was first alerted Saturday morning to the chunk of ice breaking away from Point Comfort in Green Bay. The sheriff’s office responded with the U.S. Coast Guard, rescuing the trapped individuals eight at a time with airboats, The Hill reported. (RELATED Authorities Rescue 66 Stranded Ice Fishermen)
Pics of today’s ice rescue. Happy to report a good ending to this extremely dangerous situation. Please continue to avoid the ice along the east shore as it has been compromised by barge traffic. pic.twitter.com/NAGEcqppfF
— Brown County Sheriff (@sheriffbc) January 8, 2022
No injuries were reported during the operation, which took less than two hours, according to CNN.
Shane Nelson, who was present on the chunk of ice, commented on the ice breaking away, WLUK Fox 11 reported.
“It sounded like, almost, somebody fired a gun out there,” Nelson said. “We thought it was interesting, got out of our shanty, took a look and people were yelling on the ice ‘we’re separating.'”
The initial count of people rescued totaled 27, but the sheriff’s office updated the number to 34 several hours later, according to WLUK Fox 11.