Over 25 People Had To Be Rescued From A Broken Off Piece Of Ice In Wisconsin

Ice fishing can be dangerous especially out on one of the great lakes, but thankfully for a particular group of anglers, they have a rescue squad that is always prepared for any situation. Many of us in this area remember hearing about what happened on Lake Superior last February when an ice sheet broke away and temporarily stranded 26 anglers.

According to a statement from the Brown County Sheriff's Department, they believe that this past Saturday a barge traveling through the bay may have caused an ice chunk to break off the shoreline causing the ice to break away stranding twenty-seven people on an ice chunk off the shore of Point Comfort in the bay of Green Bay Wisconsin.

The chunk of ice ended up floating about three-quarters of a mile during the actual rescue and was a mile from the shoreline by the time all of the anglers were brought to safety.  Imagine how terrifying this would have been to be out on one of the great lakes a mile from shore knowing how freezing cold the water is and no life jacket, just ice fishing equipment. Unreal!

Get our free mobile app

According to the Green Bay Press-Gazette: "The Brown County Sheriff’s Office airboat and the U.S. Coast Guard’s airboat out of Sturgeon Bay were great assets during this rescue. Their ability to carry up to eight additional passengers aside from rescue personnel and ability to traverse ice and water terrain greatly cut down on the amount of time and risk this rescue took."

The Brown County Sheriff's Department wants to remind everyone to always remain aware of any deterioration, cracking, or melting ice and to always keep a cellphone with you when standing or traveling on ice. Thankfully everyone was successfully rescued with no injuries reported.