Two young Iowa brothers stuck on shifting ice in the Des Moines River near Fort Dodge were not injured during their ordeal, and were rescued in an operation using rope and a boat, authorities said.
The incident Thursday afternoon near Hydro Electric Park began after Corbin Crawford, 12, and Dylan Crawford, 7, walked onto the ice near the park’s boat ramp, the Fort Dodge Messenger reported.
A witness said the boys panicked when the ice started shifting. They eventually got about 75 feet from the west bank of the river and about 300 feet north of the Hydroelectric Dam. They huddled with one another as help arrived.
The rescue, which took about 45 minutes, involved firefighters throwing rope at the boys in order to send them life jackets. A firefighter in a flotation suit went onto the ice with the brothers. Another went into the icy water.
The firefighters helped get a flat-bottomed aluminum boat to the boys, which they used to pull them to shore. The boat’s light weight helped reduce the chances of it breaking through the ice.
The brothers were hugged by their mother once they reached solid ground. They were examined at the scene but did not require hospitalization.
“One of the guys here got a message saying they’re home and enjoying some hot chocolate and that they learned their lessons for the day,” Fire Department Capt. Paul Neeson said later Thursday.
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