2 anglers rescued from Lake Erie ice floe

SIMCOE, Ontario, March 7 (UPI) -- Two ice fishermen, oblivious to the fact the ice on which they were fishing had broken free from shore, were plucked safely from Lake Erie, police said.

Ontario Provincial Police said the men had been inside their fish house for several hours off Long Point Bay near Simcoe, Ontario, Friday. When they went outside they heard sirens sounding on shore and came to realize it was an attempt to get their attention, CanWest News Service reported Saturday.

A snowmobiler had rescued two other anglers but a helicopter was called in to rescue the other two men, ages 29 and 54, about 6 p.m.

"There were several fishermen out in ice huts fishing throughout the day and as the ice started to break up they started coming in," provincial police Constable Mark Foster said. "But there were a few that were unaware that the ice was breaking up and that the ice they were sitting on had separated from the main ice pack connected to shore."

Foster said with recent warm temperatures the ice fishing season on Lake Erie is "all done."