Canadian freighter with 17 people on board remains stuck in Lake Erie near Buffalo, New York

A Canadian freighter with 17 people on board remains in the ice on Lake Erie near Buffalo, New York, according to Omar Faba of the United States Coast Guard. It has been frozen in the water since Wednesday.

Efforts to free him saw “progress” on Thursday, Faba said. However, work was suspended for the night, he told CBC News. He said the plan is to resume work on Friday and hopefully release him.

The 202-metre Manitoulin had dropped off a cargo of wheat and was headed back to Sarnia, Ontario, when it became stuck in ice that was rapidly forming in sub-zero temperatures off the coast of Buffalo.

And that’s where it remains, creating a striking sight on the lake, surrounded on all sides by ice and snow.

“We just haven’t had a bad winter in quite some time. So now that we’ve had one and people haven’t seen this in a while, they’re wondering ‘what’s going on?'” said Paul Angelillo, a search specialist. and Coast Guard rescue in Buffalo.

Great Lakes freighters can normally navigate the ice surface in the winter, but occasionally encounter ice that is too hard or thick to traverse, he said.

The Manitoulin was not damaged and the captain and crew were safe, the Coast Guard said.