WATCH: West Michigan police rescue fisherman who fell through ice on lake
Michigan police rescue fisherman who fell through ice
Police in Kalamazoo are issuing a warning about ice conditions after a fisherman fell through a frozen lake and needed to be saved.
KALAMAZOO, Mich. (FOX 2) - A fishing trip Wednesday morning nearly ended in tragedy after a fisherman fell through the ice of a west Michigan lake.
Thankfully, Kalamazoo public safety officers were able to rescue the man, who was almost completely submerged and clinging to a piece of ice.
The backstory:
Kalamazoo officers were called to a lake in the 3700 block of Greenleaf Circle just before 11:40 a.m. Tuesday after receiving a report that a man was in the water. When officers arrived, they found a 63-year-old fisherman submerged to his shoulders and holding onto a piece of unstable ice.
Due to unsafe ice conditions, officers were initially unable to reach the man without specialized equipment. Once Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety Squad 6 members arrived, they put on cold-weather gear and entered the lake.
Officers were then able to place a life preserver around the man and pull him from the water.
Once the man was out of the water, he was taken to a hospital, where he is expected to make a full recovery.
Big picture view:
Police are using the rescue as a reminder to be careful on frozen lakes, especially when temperatures are fluctuating and ice conditions can change rapidly.
The Source: This information is from the Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety.
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