Dozens rescued after being stranded on floating ice chunk in Wisconsin
Officials said that recent barge traffic might have weakened the stability of the ice.
Dozens of people are now safe after being rescued from a floating chunk of ice near the shore of Point Comfort in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The rescued individuals were ice fishing before they became stranded.
As reported by CNN, the ice chunk was roughly one mile from shore by the end of the rescue and had floated about three-quarters of a mile during the rescue.
"It sounded like almost somebody fired a gun out there," Shane Nelson said in an interview with CNN affiliate WLUK. "We thought it was interesting. We got out of our shanty, looked and ... a couple people were yelling that the ice was separating."
Brown County Sheriff's Office shared a post on their Facebook page stating 27 people were rescued on January 8th. This number was later increased to 34 individuals rescued, all without injuries.
Vehicles that were used to rescue the stranded individuals on the drifting ice chunk. (Brown County Sheriff's Office)
Officials say that recent shipping activity may have caused the large ice chunk to break off.
“Barge traffic yesterday appears to have weakened the ice along the east shore of the Bay, therefore, the ice should be avoided for all recreational use. Please also avoid the roadways near Point Comfort as many emergency vehicles need to get in and out of that area,” the sheriff’s office stated.
WINTER ICE SAFETY
There are several considerations one should make before heading out onto a frozen body of water.
The Canadian Red Cross Society says that there are many factors that influence ice thickness, including but not limited to: the depth and size of the water body, currents and tides, chemicals such as salt, air temperature, sunshine, and shock waves from vehicles travelling on the ice.
General guidelines indicate that minimum ice thickness should be 15 cm for walking or skating alone, 20 cm for skating parties or games, and 25 cm for snowmobiles. See below for other safety information provided by the Canadian Red Cross Society.
If you get into trouble on ice and you're by yourself:
Call for help.
Resist the immediate urge to climb back out where you fell in. The ice is weak in this area.
Try to relax and catch your breath. Turn yourself toward shore so you are looking at where you entered onto the ice. The ice is more stable close to shore.
Reach forward onto the broken ice without pushing down. Kick your legs to try to get your body into a horizontal position.
Continue kicking your legs, and crawl onto the ice.
When you are back on the ice, crawl on your stomach or roll away from the open area with your arms and legs spread out as far as possible to evenly distribute your body weight. Do not stand up! Look for shore and make sure you are crawling in the right direction.
When you are with others on ice:
Rescuing another person from ice can be dangerous. The safest way to perform a rescue is from shore.
Call for help. Consider whether you can quickly get help from trained professionals (police, fire fighters or ambulance) or bystanders.
Check if you can reach the person using a long pole or branch from shore – if so, lie down and extend the pole to the person.
If you go onto ice, wear a PFD and carry a long pole or branch to test the ice in front of you. Bring something to reach or throw to the person (e.g. pole, weighted rope, line or tree branch).
When near the break, lie down to distribute your weight and slowly crawl toward the hole.
Remaining low, extend or throw your emergency rescue device (pole, rope, line or branch) to the person.
Have the person kick while you pull them out.
Thumbnail credit: CNN/ Daniel Larson