BIRCH POINT, Manitoba, March 28 (UPI) -- Thirteen U.S. fishermen were rescued early Wednesday after spending 7 hours on an ice floe on Lake of the Woods in Canada, authorities said.
Rescuers used an air boat to carry the Wisconsin men to safety without anyone getting hurt, the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. reported.
The fishermen were out on the lake with their all-terrain vehicles when it got windy and the ice started to break up, said Leonard Friesen, owner of the Silver Birch Resort, where the men were staying.
"They couldn't get off the ice because the crack was about 100 feet wide and by time they got rescued the crack was probably 300 [to] 400 feet wide," Friesen said.
One angler, Tracy Sobush, told the CBC the group had been warned Tuesday not to go onto the ice, but went ahead anyway.
"Let's take a chance and go. Yeah, Leonard told us, 'You're out there on your own risk, boys.' And we know that," Sobush said. "We know the risks. But … to catch Manitoba pike, it's well worth it."
It cost the group nearly $4,000 to get their ATV's and other equipment off the floe.
