Two rescued after canoe capsizes in Lake Superior

March 28, 2020 at 11:00PM
The coastline of Park Point in Duluth in October 2019.
The coastline of Park Point in Duluth in October 2019. (Marci Schmitt — Star Tribune file/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

The St. Louis County Rescue Squad pulled two men out of Lake Superior Friday evening after their canoe capsized off the shore of Park Point in Duluth.

Witnesses reported seeing a capsized canoe with people in the water about 7 p.m. Friday, according to a statement from the St. Louis County Sheriff's Office. One man grabbed a personal flotation device and swam toward shore with help from a Rescue Squad member. The other man was rescued by someone in a passing fishing boat who saw him in distress and pulled him into the boat.

The men were treated by Mayo Ambulance and the Duluth Fire Department, then taken to Essentia Health Clinic in Duluth with noncritical injuries.

There were personal flotation devices on board, but the two were not wearing them. Alcohol consumption and lake conditions are believed to be factors, the statement said.

The U.S. Coast Guard and Duluth Police Department joined the Sheriff's Office, Rescue Squad, ambulance and Fire Department in providing assistance.

Katy Read • 612-673-4583

about the writer

about the writer

Katy Read

Reporter

Katy Read writes for the Star Tribune's Inspired section. She previously covered Carver County and western Hennepin County as well as aging, workplace issues and other topics since she began at the paper in 2011. Prior to that, she was a reporter at the Times-Picayune in New Orleans, La., and the Duluth News-Tribune and spent 15 years as a freelance writer for national and regional magazines.

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