A Lake Erie ice floe separated from the Ohio shoreline and isolated outdoor enthusiasts atop the frozen feature Sunday afternoon, but rescuers were able to put 18 people on dry land with no injuries, authorities said.
A Detroit-based U.S. Coast Guard helicopter was over the area of Sandusky Island, a township in Ohio, when crew members noticed the floe adrift before 1 p.m., the U.S. Coast Guard said in a statement.
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Some of the people on the virtual island were using all-terrain vehicles in an attempt to find a path to land, the Coast Guard said.
The MH-65 Dolphin helicopter overhead swung into action, and seven people were hoisted aboard, the military branch said. At the same time two airboats, one from the Coast Guard's nearby Station Marblehead, and one piloted by a good Samaritan, picked up the others.
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