A couple of teens who were fooling around on icy Lake Michigan over the weekend are counting their lucky stars.
According to a report, the 17 and 18-year-old men were jumping on the ice which broke off and floated into the lake.
Within minutes they were already 30 metres away from the shore despite their best efforts to paddle back using their arms.
One of the victims was able to call for help on a cell phone.
“We tried using our arms and paddling out but we just got farther and farther,” he told a 911 operator. “They need a boat or something to get us. We’re too far from shore.”
The Racine Fire Department in Wisconsin responded to the call but realized deploying a boat would take too long, allowing the men to drift further off into the lake.
The ice chunk had floated 60 metres into the lake by the time the rescuers arrived.
“They are not going to be able to get us brother,” one victim can be heard saying.
However, the firefighters didn’t give up hope and had a plan. They suited up in rescue diving suits, anchored themselves and swam out to retrieve the stranded men. Once they reached the victims, they pulled them into shore.
Jose Carbajal, one of the rescuers who swam out to rescue the men, told CBS that the men were very lucky to survive their ordeal. Had conditions been more difficult, the situation could have been even more dangerous.
“I think the key thing here is they never even got wet. We got them back to shore without getting any water on them,” said Carbajal.
“Hopefully they learned a lesson,” Racine Fire Chief Willie Hargrove told WEAU. “Not the smartest thing to put yourself in that position.”
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