FRUITPORT, Mich. — (Grand Haven Tribune) Two fishermen were rescued after falling through the ice on Spring Lake near Pomona Park in Fruitport at around noon on Sunday, according to Fruitport Township Police.
“The second male had gone to the aid of the initial victim when he too became trapped,” police said.
“I just found out my uncle was one of the people they rescued after he tried to rescue the guy that fell through the ice,” Kelly Jo Foreman posted on post on the rescue on Fruitport Informed Facebook page. “My uncle is an avid fisherman and scuba diver and an Army vet. He didn’t think twice when he seen someone needing help. I’m so thankful to the rescue crews who responded and were able to get them both out safely.”
Fruitport firefighters with the assistance of the Norton Shores Fire Department responded to the scene.
They were able to rescue both fishermen. An ambulance transported one of the men to a local hospital due to cold-water exposure, police said.
Warning tape has been placed near the Pomona Park boat launch and police are asking that everyone stay off the ice.
Scott Machowski and his wife were returning home from the mall when they saw the ambulance and firefighters going by.
“We saw fishermen on the ice earlier and that was our first thought, that someone had fallen in,” he said.
The couple lives across the street from the park and arrived home as the fire truck and ambulance pulled into the park.
Police were already on the scene, he said.
Machowski said the firefighters put on their rescue suits and crawled across the ice, pulling sleds with them. They put the men on the sleds and pulled them to shore.
“They had them out pretty quick,” Machowski said. “They did a really good job.”
Machowski, who describes himself as an avid fisherman, said there was no way that he would be out on the ice in Sunday’s conditions.
“We fished for a couple of weeks and then the lake opened up,” he said. “It just froze up again the last couple days, but there’s a creek running into the bay. It’s not safe.”
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