DETROIT – It has been cold outside, but not cold enough to keep the ice from melting on the Detroit River. For one group of men, a night of fun on the river turned into a cry for help.
Emergency crews were called out to rescue a man that fell through the ice on the river near Celeron Island.
"One in the water, on an ATV, and he was in the water and our guys went out and put our rescue sled out to retrieve him," said Grosse Ile Fire Department Chief Chris Payette.
Five men aged 30-40 years old were out on the ice riding four-wheelers around 11 p.m. Friday, until that ice gave out.
"They were on ice until they hit open water," Chief Payette said. "It went through the ice, it was starting to thin out with the weather starting to warm up."
Chief Payette says the man that was pulled from the freezing water was taken to a nearby hospital and is expected to survive. The other riders are doing fine.
"It's very cold, that's why he's out with the hospital now, and they're checking him out to make sure there's not too much hypothermia," Chief Payette said.
Thanks to quick responses by the Coast Guard and Fire Department, everyone walked away with their lives. But the chief hopes this incident will teach others not to make the same mistake.
"Stay off the ice," Chief Payette said. "Especially at nighttime, and even during the day now, the weather's starting to change a bit."