1,600 jump into icy Lake Ontario

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ROCHESTER, N.Y., Feb. 13 (UPI) -- Organizers of a "Polar Plunge" in New York said about 1,600 people jumped into the icy waters of Lake Ontario to raise $225,000.

The 12th annual event, which occurred Sunday and raised funds for Special Olympics New York, took place during a snowstorm in the Rochester area that filled the lake with ice and slush, The (Rochester) Democrat and Chronicle reported Monday.

"This was the coldest and the worst," said Andy DeMarco, 49, of Rochester, a retired sheriff's deputy who has participated in the event for several years.

But Randy Crum, 51, of Buffalo, a seven-year veteran of the Polar Plunge, said jumping into the frigid water is "not as bad as everybody thinks it is."