18 stranded on Lake Erie ice floe have been rescued

Those rescued ignored warnings to stay off the ice, which had a risk of drifting

An aerial view of people trapped near Catawba Island after they were stranded by an ice break in Lake Erie, Ohio. Island Air Taxi via Reuters

The US Coast Guard announced on Monday that 18 people were rescued from an ice floe that broke away in Lake Erie at the weekend.

Officials said a helicopter from Air Station Detroit noticed a group of people on the floe near Ohio’s Catawba Island at about 1pm on Sunday, with several all-terrain vehicles seeking a route back to land.

The helicopter lowered a rescue swimmer and began hoisting operations while an airboat set out from nearby Marblehead station, authorities said.

The helicopter lifted seven people from the floe and the airboat rescued four others, they added.

The seven other people were picked up and taken to shore by a good Samaritan in another airboat.

Emergency medical services were standing by, but no one required medical attention, the US Coast Guard said.

Authorities had earlier urged people to “stay off the ice on Lake Erie as there is the possibility that the ice will drift away from shore".

Last week, crews from the two coastguard stations were called in to aid Catawba Island volunteer firefighters in rescuing seven people from another floe west of the peninsula.