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Ice floes on Lake Superior (archive image)
Photo: Susan Dykstra / imago images / Design Pics
The search for the best catch may have put a group of anglers in the US state of Minnesota at great risk.
As reported by the AP news agency, among others, people ventured onto the ice of Lake Superior and did not notice that it was detaching from the coast.
A total of 26 people had to be rescued from the ice floe near the city of Duluth, reported the MPRnews website.
The incident took place on Tuesday.
Rescue workers were alerted after a local resident saw some of the huts used for ice fishing drift away.
Fire brigade, coast guard and police brought the people from the piece of ice to safety with boats.
There were no injuries.
According to the Star Tribune, some of the anglers hadn't even noticed that the ice had peeled off the coast.
Only the sirens of the arriving rescue workers made them aware of their predicament.
Second ice floe rescue operation within a few days
According to the authorities, Lake Superior is only covered with around ten percent ice this year - significantly less than usual.
Certain weather conditions can cause the ice to break away from the banks and drift out onto the lake.
According to the AP news agency, there was a similar case in Wisconsin about a week ago.
There, 66 people had been driven off the coast on ice floes on Lake Michigan.
According to media reports, some of them had to be rescued by helicopter.
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fek / AP
