Authorities rescued 34 people from a floating chunk of ice that broke away from shore in the bay of Green Bay in eastern Wisconsin, the sheriff's office said Sunday.

No injuries were reported in the incident that happened Saturday morning north of Green Bay, in the arm that's part of Lake Michigan, the Brown County Sheriff's Office reported. Many of the 34 people rescued were ice fishing at the time of the incident.

The chunk of ice floated about three-quarters of a mile during the rescue and was about a mile from the shoreline by the time everyone was brought to solid ground. Authorities said the stranded people were on the separated ice shove for about 90 minutes.

Brown County Sheriff, @sheriffbc/Twitter

A barge traveling through the bay may have caused the ice chunk to break off the shoreline, the sheriff's office said. Shane Nelson, who was making his first ice fishing excursion, said the noise sounded like somebody had fired a gun.

“We thought it was interesting, got out of our shanty, took a look and people were yelling on the ice, ‘We’re separating,’" Nelson told WLUK-TV.

Airboats from the Brown County Sheriff's Office and the U.S. Coast Guard were able to rescue eight passengers at a time.

Note: The total number of rescued individuals was updated on January 11, 2022, from 27 to 34 based on the latest information from the Brown County Sheriff's Office.

Share:
More In Culture
How Pets Might Boost Your Mental Health
Alina Hauptman, a communications strategist at the Best Friends Animal Society, joined Cheddar News to discuss how pets can actually give a boost to your mental health.
Need2Know: January 20, 2023
Singer David Crosby has died, actor Julian Sands is missing, and actor Alec Baldwin will be charged with involuntary manslaughter. Here is everything you Need2Know for Friday, January 20, 2023.
David Crosby, Rock Star and CSNY Co-Founder, Dies
David Crosby, the brash rock musician who evolved from a baby-faced harmony singer with the Byrds to a mustachioed hippie superstar and an ongoing troubadour in Crosby, Stills, Nash & (sometimes) Young, has died at 81,
One Good Thing: ‘Welcome Corps’
Cheddar News discusses a new State Department program, the ‘Welcome Corps’ that will allow private U.S. citizens to sponsor refugees from around the world.
Load More