Two men rescued from partially sunken boat in Lake Erie

U. S. Coast Guard released this photo of a partially sunken boat on Lake Erie.

The U.S. Coast Guard rescued two men after the boat they were on partially sank in Lake Erie Sunday morning.

Officials say it happened two miles northeast of the Ashtabula Harbor in Ashtabula, Ohio.

A boater called an officer at Coast Guard Station Ashtabula at 8:48 a.m., reporting his boat was taking on water north of Ashtabula Harbor. The officer issued an urgent marine information broadcast, which requests any nearby boaters to help if possible. During the broadcast, the phone call was dropped.

A coast guard boat crew launched a rescue at 8:58 a.m. The rescue crew members say they found the distressed boaters, who were waving a red life jacket.

The crew arrived on scene at 9:10 a.m. and helped the men out of the water and aboard the rescue boat.

"The men we rescued acted smartly and contacted us immediately upon realizing that they were in trouble," said Petty Officer 2nd Class William Campbell.

He says they made several smart decisions by contacting the coast guard immediately, wearing life jackets and carrying a waterproof phone .

“They also personally realized an error and mentioned to me that they wish they had a marine band VHF-FM radio aboard their boat to assist in communicating with us easier without dropping a call," says Campbell.

The two men declined medical attention when they were brought back to shore. Their boat was salvaged at about noon.