Rescuers save snowmobiler from icy Coralville Lake

NORTH LIBERTY — A snowmobiler fell through the ice Sunday on Coralville Lake and was rescued by the North Liberty Fire Department, according to the city.

The firefighters and Johnson County Ambulance Service were dispatched at 5:07 p.m. to an area just south of the Mehaffey Bridge Road Bridge, where they found a person in the water holding onto the ice.

Firefighters used ice rescue suits, a rapid deployment craft and ropes to rescue the individual from the water. One firefighter was injured in the rescue and was transported to the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, along with the snowmobiler.

The fire department said that because of widely variable weather conditions across Iowa, ice on the reservoir and in the Iowa River has deteriorated and refrozen quickly, which creates dangerous conditions for recreation.

“Additionally, the reservoir is a river with a current; this can also cause the ice to be unstable for recreation purposes. Taking risks on the ice also puts rescuers at risk, much like it did in this situation,” the city said in a statement. “Ice is never 100 percent safe. The emergency services urge the public to take the time to properly assess the ice before going out on it, and have a survival plan before recreating on the ice.”

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