Ship with 17 people on board gets trapped in ice on Lake Erie near Buffalo [Video]

A Canadian freighter with 17 people on board got stuck in the ice on Lake Erie while departing Buffalo, according to the Coast Guard, which arrived with icebreaking equipment Thursday to begin freeing the vessel.

The 663-foot Manitoulin had dropped off a load of wheat and was heading back to Sarnia, Ontario, on Wednesday when it became stuck in ice that was rapidly forming in sub-zero temperatures off the Buffalo shoreline. It remained there through Thursday, creating a striking sight on the lake, surrounded on all sides by ice and snow.

U.S. Coast Guard Lt. Bridgette Baldwin told CBS affiliate WIVB-TV that the ice on Lake Erie is thicker than normal right now “so local ice breakers and local Coast Guard vessels don’t have the capability to break ice with that level of thickness.”