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Cannon Township firefighters use hovercraft to rescue man from Lake Bella Vista ice

Posted at 4:26 PM, Dec 17, 2017
and last updated 2017-12-17 16:36:16-05

CANNON TOWNSHIP, Mich. — The Cannon Township Fire Department rescued a man who fell through the ice at Lake Bella Vista on Sunday afternoon.

The incident occurred at about 3 p.m. near Arbol Court NE in the northeastern corner of Lake Bella Vista.

Cannon Township Fire Chief Jim Morris told a FOX 17 crew at the scene that the man was in the water for about 20 minutes before he was rescued. Morris says several nearby residents called 9-1-1 when they saw the man had fallen through. No one else was on the ice with him at the time of the incident.

Morris says it’s far too early in the season to go out on the ice.

“Right now, just stay off the ice,” Morris tells FOX 17. “It is not safe and it will not be safe because of the snow. Even though we’ve been having cold nights, snow isolates and it’s not going to freeze so you need to stay off the lakes.”

The ice on Lake Bella Vista was so thin that Morris says his responders had to use a hovercraft for the rescue.

Anytime you go out onto the ice, Morris says it’s important to wear a life preserver no matter how solid the ice is.