Twenty-six Minnesota ice anglers had to be rescued Tuesday when the ice they were fishing on became separated from the shore, authorities said.
The Duluth Fire Department responded within a minute to an emergency call from Lake Superior from a large group of fishermen who had been fishing from individual fish houses when the ice they were fishing on drifted. Many of them collapsed their houses.
The fishermen were brought to shore in batches. Three were brought back quickly and easily, while another three were brought back with a motor-less boat. But wind speed and direction made it hard for crews to rescue the remaining anglers.
Marine 3, a motorized inflatable boat, rescued the remaining fishermen, a statement from the fire department said.
Another fisherman who started to walk out on the separating ice was also rescued by a St. Louis County Sheriff’s Rescue Squad's airboat.
Within an hour of the emergency call, 26 anglers had been plucked from the ice, the Duluth Fire Department's statement said.
The Duluth Police Department, St. Louis County Sheriff Office, Mayo Ambulance and the U.S. Coast were also on the scene.
