MCKINLEY TOWNSHIP, Mich. – Three anglers are safe after a homemade ice-fishing shanty was blown about a mile (1.6 kilometers) across a bay in Michigan by winds that neared 50 mph (80 kph), authorities said.
A person onshore called Huron County dispatchers about 8 a.m. Sunday after seeing someone struggling with the shanty as it was being blown across the ice on Saginaw Bay off McKinley Township, Huron County Sheriff Kelly Hanson said in a news release.
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The shanty, which had been occupied by three men, was about 1.5 miles (2.4 kilometers) offshore when deputies arrived. Hanson said a fire department airboat was taken to the site for a rescue, but the three men eventually were able to make it across the ice to shore on their own.
The men refused medical treatment. They told deputies that they spent Saturday night on the ice in the shanty and were aware of an approaching storm, but apparently took for granted the power of the winds, Hanson said.
The men were making arrangements to return to shore when wind gusts began to push the shanty. McKinley Township is located in Michigan’s Thumb region, about 120 miles (193 kilometers) north of Detroit.