3 rescued, 1 sought in Lake Erie in Ohio after distress call, Coast Guard says

CLEVELAND (AP) — Three people were rescued and a fourth person was being sought in Lake Erie in Ohio after a distress call Saturday, authorities said.

The U.S. Coast Guard Great Lakes station said the mayday call was received just after 10:30 a.m. A helicopter was launched from the Coast Guard air station in Detroit and a boat crew from the Cleveland harbor also headed out to search, but an hour later the helicopter was diverted to a separate rescue in the lake off Ashtabula.

Shortly before 2 p.m., a local fire rescue boat crew reported finding coolers and other debris floating one or two nautical miles off the Perry nuclear power plant.

The Detroit crew, after refueling, rejoined the search and rescued one person in the water, while the fire department boat crew rescued another. Both were responsive and were wearing life jackets. The Cleveland harbor crew rescued a third person, who was unresponsive; there was no immediate word on the conditions of the three people.

Officials learned that a fourth person had been in the water, and they said it was not immediately clear whether that person had a life jacket. Rescuers were continuing to search.

The diverted Detroit helicopter crew rescued five people who were clinging to a cooler in Lake Erie about 10 miles off Ashtabula after their 22-foot boat was swamped by a wave, officials said. They were taken to the northeast Ohio regional airport, and officials said none had any medical concerns.