- Location
- Cleveland Ohio
1 dead, 150 rescued off ice floe in Lake Erie
(CNN) -- One person died Saturday after he fell in the water when an ice floe broke away from land in western Lake Erie, a Coast Guard spokesman told CNN.
People were stuck when an 8-mile-long chunk of Lake Erie ice broke away near Toledo, Ohio.
"We have rescued more than 150 people, and unfortunately there were two people in the water," Coast Guard Chief Petty Officer Robert Lanier said. "One of the people was recovered and brought to shore," but the other man was pronounced dead after being transported to a hospital.
Coast Guard aircraft were surveying the ice floe to make sure everyone had been recovered, Lanier said.
At least some of those rescued were ice fishermen.
"Ice fishing and recreation on the ice is a culture in the Great Lakes. It's something we've become used to," Lanier said.
But the Ottawa County, Ohio, sheriff said those rescued should never have been on the ice in the first place, and "if there was a section in the code about common sense, we would have had 150 arrests out there today."
"This just cost the taxpayers a ton of money," Sheriff Bob Bratton said. "We lost a life out there today. ... I'm sorry a man lost his life out there today. These people should have known better."
He said the fishermen had to build a makeshift bridge to get from one section of the ice to the other. "When they got to the other, that put them further out. The weather changed; the temperature went up; the wind was coming out of the south. These are all things that are indicators [that a break could occur]."
Beside the money spent, he said, the rescue effort put rescuers in danger.
Asked whether there are signs or other notification systems to discourage fishermen from going out on the ice under risky conditions, Bratton said there are only Web sites fishermen can check.
"We will go back and look at that," he said. "We can't develop the attitude, 'Go out on the ice. If you get caught, we'll be there to get you. We'll bring you in.' You've got to have common sense."
Watch lake officials describe rescue efforts »
Unprecedented numbers of fishermen have taken to the ice this winter because thicker ice allowed them to go farther out onto the lake, according to the Cleveland Plain Dealer. But Saturday's unseasonably high temperatures apparently melted chunks of the ice.
Ice fishermen towing trailers with snowmobiles and all-terrain vehicles filled the parking lot of Catawba Island State Park on Friday, the newspaper reported.
"It's really busy for a Friday morning," park ranger Christopher Desh told the Plain Dealer. "I expect the weekend will be a madhouse."
The ice floe, 8 miles long, was created when a large piece of ice broke off Saturday from land near Locust Point, Ohio, east of Toledo, Lanier said earlier.
Numerous helicopters participated in the rescue, Lanier said, including those from the Canadian Coast Guard, the U.S. Coast Guard, Ohio State University and Monroe County. State hovercrafts were on the scene as well, and airboats were sent, he said.
Those rescued were brought to a staging area at a park, Lanier said.
The U.S. Coast Guard received a call from one of the people reporting they were stuck about 10:45 a.m., he said.
The National Weather Service issued a warning Saturday that ice floes could break away from the main ice area in the western section of Lake Erie.
Reporter Colleen Wells of CNN affiliate WTOL said she had spoken with some of those rescued, and they reported they went out on the ice this morning as people had laid planks over the cracks in the ice. But "the wind changed, and that ice they were on started drifting out and before they knew it, their plank had fallen into the water, so they were stuck," Wells said.
"They're in good spirits," she said. "They feel kind of embarrassed."
(CNN) -- One person died Saturday after he fell in the water when an ice floe broke away from land in western Lake Erie, a Coast Guard spokesman told CNN.
"We have rescued more than 150 people, and unfortunately there were two people in the water," Coast Guard Chief Petty Officer Robert Lanier said. "One of the people was recovered and brought to shore," but the other man was pronounced dead after being transported to a hospital.
Coast Guard aircraft were surveying the ice floe to make sure everyone had been recovered, Lanier said.
At least some of those rescued were ice fishermen.
"Ice fishing and recreation on the ice is a culture in the Great Lakes. It's something we've become used to," Lanier said.
But the Ottawa County, Ohio, sheriff said those rescued should never have been on the ice in the first place, and "if there was a section in the code about common sense, we would have had 150 arrests out there today."
"This just cost the taxpayers a ton of money," Sheriff Bob Bratton said. "We lost a life out there today. ... I'm sorry a man lost his life out there today. These people should have known better."
He said the fishermen had to build a makeshift bridge to get from one section of the ice to the other. "When they got to the other, that put them further out. The weather changed; the temperature went up; the wind was coming out of the south. These are all things that are indicators [that a break could occur]."
Beside the money spent, he said, the rescue effort put rescuers in danger.
Asked whether there are signs or other notification systems to discourage fishermen from going out on the ice under risky conditions, Bratton said there are only Web sites fishermen can check.
"We will go back and look at that," he said. "We can't develop the attitude, 'Go out on the ice. If you get caught, we'll be there to get you. We'll bring you in.' You've got to have common sense."
Unprecedented numbers of fishermen have taken to the ice this winter because thicker ice allowed them to go farther out onto the lake, according to the Cleveland Plain Dealer. But Saturday's unseasonably high temperatures apparently melted chunks of the ice.
Ice fishermen towing trailers with snowmobiles and all-terrain vehicles filled the parking lot of Catawba Island State Park on Friday, the newspaper reported.
"It's really busy for a Friday morning," park ranger Christopher Desh told the Plain Dealer. "I expect the weekend will be a madhouse."
The ice floe, 8 miles long, was created when a large piece of ice broke off Saturday from land near Locust Point, Ohio, east of Toledo, Lanier said earlier.
Numerous helicopters participated in the rescue, Lanier said, including those from the Canadian Coast Guard, the U.S. Coast Guard, Ohio State University and Monroe County. State hovercrafts were on the scene as well, and airboats were sent, he said.
Those rescued were brought to a staging area at a park, Lanier said.
The U.S. Coast Guard received a call from one of the people reporting they were stuck about 10:45 a.m., he said.
The National Weather Service issued a warning Saturday that ice floes could break away from the main ice area in the western section of Lake Erie.
Reporter Colleen Wells of CNN affiliate WTOL said she had spoken with some of those rescued, and they reported they went out on the ice this morning as people had laid planks over the cracks in the ice. But "the wind changed, and that ice they were on started drifting out and before they knew it, their plank had fallen into the water, so they were stuck," Wells said.
"They're in good spirits," she said. "They feel kind of embarrassed."
