One person died and about 150 others were rescued after they remained isolated on a floating island of ice. They had ignored the ice cracks caused by rising temperatures and high winds. About 150 people, including many fishermen, were stranded on the ice flow on Lake Erie.

The National Weather Service had issued a warning about the high risk of break-away floes in the western section of the lake. Although most of them were saved, the Ottawa County, Ohio, Sheriff Bob Bratton was very angry with them although he was also sorry for the lost life.
 
"This just cost the taxpayers a ton of money," Bratton said. “These people should have known better." He added that what the fishermen did was very wrong because they endangered not only their lives, but also the lives of the volunteer firemen and the Coast Guard agents.

The man who died was not identified yet. The tragedy happened when he fell into the water while looking for a path to the shore. According to another source (the U.S. Cost Guard) the man fell in the freezing water when the ice floe broke away from land.

He was taken out of the water, but died while being airlifted to the hospital via helicopter. The rest of the people who were stranded on the ice floe were rescued by local authorities and United States Coast Guard agents.

There were two people who fell in the icy water, but one was saved.

"We have rescued more than 150 people, and unfortunately there were two people in the water," Chief Petty Officer Robert Lanier said.