Green Bay rescue: 27 people saved from floating ice chunk in Wisconsin

No one was injured in incident

Sheriff deputies in Green Bay after the successful rescue of 27 people on 8 January (Brown County Sheriff )

At least 27 people were rescued from a floating chunk of ice off Green Bay in Wisconsin on Saturday morning.

Many of those who were stranded were ice fishing in the north of Green Bay, in the area that’s part of Lake Michigan, according to the Brown County Sheriff’s Office. No one was injured during the incident.

The individuals were rescued in groups of eight, as sheriff’s deputies, fire officials and the US Coast Guard made several trips.

All 27 people floated on the separate ice shove for about 90 minutes. It had floated nearly three-quarters of a mile from the shoreline before those stranded on it were rescued, reported the Associated Press.

While officials are still determining the cause of detachment, the sheriff’s office said that a barge traveling through the bay may have caused the ice chunk to break off the shoreline.

Shane Nelson, one of the people stranded, told Fox affiliate WLUK-TV that it sounded like somebody had fired a gun when the ice broke. “We thought it was interesting, got out of our shanty, took a look and people were yelling on the ice, ‘We’re separating’,” Mr Nelson said.

“People out on the ice are always encouraged to maintain awareness of the potential deterioration in their surroundings and keep a cellphone or some way of communicating with them in case there is a need to call for assistance,” said Brown County Sheriff’s Office in the official statement.