No injuries as excavator breaks through lake ice

(Above) A Yohn Co. worker climbs aboard the excavator Monday afternoon before it is pulled from the lake.-Reporter photo by Chris Barragy.

A crew from Tony’s Tire Service worked for more than five hours Monday night to pull a Yohn Co. excavator from the lake.

The large machine went through the ice at the public access at the 1600 block of South Shore Drive, aside the South Shore Inn, about 4 p.m. Monday.  According to reports, it was being taken on the ice for use on a sea wall project in the area.

No one was injured in the mishap.

Officials from the Iowa Department of Natural Resources secured the scene as those from Tony’s worked to remove the machine from the lake water.

Records show this is the third vehicle to fall through the ice this month.  Emergency officials responded to a pickup truck going through the ice Feb. 4, in the vicinity of the Island and on Feb. 6 a Lexus SUV was pulled from the lake by a Spirit Lake specialty towing company after going through ice on the south shore.  There were no injuries in either incident.