Elgin OPP is thanking members of the U.S. Coast Guard and stressing the importance of life jackets after four people had to be rescued from Lake Erie Wednesday night near Port Bruce, Ont.
Police said three 14-year-old Elgin County teens had set out kayaking on the lake around 9 p.m. when rough, windy conditions on the water made it hard for them to paddle back to shore, pushing them farther out into the water.
Wind speed on the lake near Port Bruce was around 32 to 37 km/h, according to NOAA, which also measured a wave height of about five feet around 9 p.m.
An adult onshore observed the teens in trouble and tried to kayak out to them, but soon found himself in trouble as well, police said.
Though nearby boaters were able to get two of the kayakers out of the water, the other two remained in the lake until a helicopter from the U.S. Coast Guard’s 9th District called out by the Canadian Joint Rescue Coordination Centre arrived just after 10 p.m.
A rescue swimmer was lowered from the helicopter who stayed with the pair until they were rescued by boat around 10:20 p.m.
One of the teens was later treated for mild hypothermia, police said.
Few other details are known.
“All parties were wearing life jackets which was a key component in their survival,” police said in a statement.
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