NIAGARA-ON-THE-LAKE, Ont. - Coast Guard crews from the United States and Canada early today rescued 11 kayakers from the waters of Lake Ontario, according to officials on both sides of the border.
The binational rescue effort was requested after the kayakers, who had hoped to paddle across Lake Ontario from Niagara-on-the-Lake to Toronto, reported they were in distress and two of their members were suffering symptoms of hypothermia.
The Niagara Regional Police Service in Ontario did not identify the young kayakers, beyond saying they came from the greater Toronto area and were accompanied by camp counselors.
The group of 11 set out in seven kayaks, accompanied by a support boat, from near Niagara-on-the-Lake around midnight, according to police and the U.S. Coast Guard.
By 4 a.m., however, members of the group had called emergency officials to report they were in distress and two were suffering from hypothermia, the U.S. Coast Guard reported. Niagara Regional Police also said some of the kayakers had separated from the rest of the group.
A U.S. Coast Guard vessel sent out from the Niagara station rescued four of the kayakers, while a Canadian Coast Guard vessel rescued the other seven kayakers and pulled the seven kayaks from the water. Crews from both countries were dispatched because some of the kayakers were in American waters and some were in Canadian waters.
The 11 kayakers were taken back to Ontario, checked out by emergency crews waiting on shore and released.
