3 Rescued on Eastern Lake Erie
The Coast Guard assisted three people Saturday afternoon after three flares were sighted from shore near Hamburg, New York. The names of those rescued are not being released and there are no photos or video available for this case.
Shortly before 5 p.m., watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector Buffalo, New York, were notified that three red flares had been sighted offshore in Lake Erie in the vicinity of Hamburg Beach in Hamburg, New York.
Sector Buffalo directed the launch of a boat crew from Coast Guard Station Buffalo, aboard a 25-foot response boat and issued an urgent marine information broadcast to advise mariners of the sighting and ask them to assist if able.
The crew arrived on scene and discovered a disabled 20-foot vessel with three people on board. They confirmed they had fired the flares.
"Flares are an important piece of safety equipment," said Mike Baron, the recreational boating safety specialist with the Coast Guard 9th District in Cleveland. "Just like radios and personal locator beacons, they can help vector rescuers to your position."
The rescue crew took all three people, Canadian citizens, to Crystal Beach, Ontario.
None of the people aboard the vessel reported any injuries or medical concerns.