Rescue operation underway for dozens of fishermen stranded on Minnesota ice floe, officials say

Dozens of fishermen were stranded on an ice floe Friday evening that became detached on a lake in northern Minnesota, authorities said.

An estimated 75 to 100 people were stranded on the ice floe in Upper Red Lake after it broke apart from the main ice, a spokesperson for the Beltrami County Sheriff’s Office told CBS News in a statement.

There were no reports that anyone had fallen into the water, the sheriff’s spokesperson said.

“The open water is too large to bridge and we are working on an operation to get people back to shore,” the spokesperson added.

Emergency crews were responding, the spokesperson said.

This comes after the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources on Thursday cautioned ice fishermen to be wary of thin ice on lakes statewide, partially caused by “unseasonably warm weather” this winter.

In its warning, it specifically noted that deteriorating ice conditions were to blame for at least three ice-angler rescues in Upper Red Lake since Dec. 17.

“While temperatures are forecasted to drop, ice conditions will remain poor until there’s a string of cold days to form new, clear ice,” the department wrote of Upper Red Lake.

The agency’s news release also included a statement from Beltrami County Sheriff Jason Riggs, who said that in “most years, the ice would be thick enough by now for vehicles and wheelhouses, and we’d be seeing a steady procession of them heading north. But this year isn’t ‘most years,’ and the ice is changing constantly. It’s absolutely vital that anyone who heads out checks the thickness frequently, pays close attention to the weather, and has a plan in case the worst happens and they wind up in the water.”

According to Minnesota DNR, Red Lake is the largest inland lake in Minnesota, measuring about 451 square miles. It is divided into two parts, Upper Red Lake and Lower Red Lake. The lake is approximately one hour from the Canadian border.