A man died and his brother survived after the two plunged into an icy lake in upstate New York while fishing on January 6.
In a statement from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, a passerby walking his dog contacted authorities after noticing two ice fishermen falling through the ice on Basswood Pond in Burlington Township, Ostego County.
Forest ranger Nate Lymon immediately arrived at the scene, according to the DEC, and saw one of the men treading water, but not the other person.
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“The ranger entered the ice, crawled toward the 42-year-old from Richfield Springs and used a throw bag to help the subject out of the water. The subject grabbed the rope and was pulled onto the sled by Ranger Laymon,” the DEC statement said.
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The ranger pulled the sled to shore where he was met by emergency crews who treated the man suffering from hypothermia. Rangers returned to the ice to locate the second person, the man’s 41-year-old brother, who was later found in 7 to 8 feet of water. The ambulance pulled the guard and the drowned man from the lake to the shore.
“At 3:23 p.m., the subject was transported to EMS who began CPR,” the DEC statement following the rescue continued. “Both people were transferred to the hospital. The first one was treated and released home. The second subject was pronounced deceased by the hospital later that night.”
The department said the ice at the time was about an inch thick and “unsafe for fishing.” In the ice fishing safety section of its website, the DEC said, “A minimum of three to four inches of solid ice is a general rule of thumb for safety. Ice thickness, however, is not uniform on any body of water… Because ice thickness can vary on a lake, check the ice periodically to be sure.”
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The upstate New York incident comes a day after two brothers, ages 6 and 8, fell through the ice of a Wisconsin retention lake and later died, Sun Prairie Police Department Assistant Chief Shunt Boston confirmed to PEOPLE.
“This is a tragedy that is one of those things that is very important to report to our public to keep them informed,” Boston said.
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The brothers were taken to hospital in critical condition. The older boy died Jan. 6 and the younger boy died Jan. 8, Boston said.
In a press release, the Sun Prairie Police Department said, “Our deepest condolences go out to the families and friends who have been significantly affected by this loss.”
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Source: HIS Education