Frigid Rescue
Two Ice Yachters Pulled From Waters Of Chautauqua LakeBy Dennis Phillips, dphillips@post-journal.com
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''The people out there with them, they were the ones that saved his life.''
BEMUS POINT - Two ice yachters fell through an open hole on Chautauqua Lake, causing one male to be transported to Hamot Medical Center via Starflight and a female to Westfield Memorial Hospital on Sunday.
Tom Rey, Bemus Point Fire Department chief, said a group of ice yachters from Erie was traveling under the Chautauqua Lake Bridge during the middle of the afternoon when one vessel with two passengers fell into open water. Rey said the male went underneath the ice for two to three minutes before fellow ice yachters were able to break through the ice to pull the victim out. The female, who didn't go under the ice, reportedly was able to get out on her own.
''He had a red coat on and they were able to see him under the ice,'' Rey said. ''The people with them started jumping on the ice to break a hole and were able to pull him out.''
Rey said the male was unconscious and not breathing when he was pulled from the icy Chautauqua Lake water. He was given mouth-to-mouth resuscitation by a member of the group and was breathing again by the time the Dewittville Water Rescue hovercraft reached the scene. Dewittville rescue transported the male to the shore where he was Starflighted to Hamot Medical Center.
''They (Dewittville) were able to get there pretty fast, they were already on the lake,'' Rey said.
The Post-Journal called Hamot Medical Center for the victim's condition who said the male was still being evaluated by hospital personnel.
Rey said he believed the female was transported to Westfield Memorial Hospital where she was checked and released. One other person who went into the water to help rescue the male victim was treated and released at the scene.
''The people out there with them, they were the ones that saved his life,'' Rey said. ''There is a lot of open water, not safe to be traveling on the lake right now.''
The Chautauqua County Sheriff's Department sent out a release saying there is open water underneath the two spans of the Chautauqua Lake Bridge due to a boating accident. Everyone on the ice should use caution in the area around the bridge.
Rey said Ashville, Bemus Point, Celoron, Dewittville, Ellery Center and Maple Springs fire departments responded to the scene.
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russthompson
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03-06-09 8:37 PM
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I am the survivor of accident. There are not enough words to describe the love I feel for the angels that saved me. If you were part of this ice rescue, I thank you. You delivered a miracle! I am recuperating and the doctors expect a full recovery.
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