Hundreds of fishermen stuck on US ice floe

Hundreds of fishermen were stranded on Lake Erie today after an ice floe broke loose from the shore due to warmer weather, rescue officials said.

The floe drifted away shortly after 4.30 (Malta time), an official for the Ottawa County Sheriff's Department said. No injuries were reported.

The Coast Guard was using boats and helicopters to rescue the fishermen.

Initial reports put the number of people stuck on the ice at 500. But a Coast Guard spokesman could not confirm that, saying only that it was more than 150.

The fishermen were near Crane Creek State Park on the western shore of Lake Erie in northern Ohio when the ice broke.

It was unclear how long it would take to complete the rescue operation, the Ottawa sheriff's department official said.