Canadian authorities say they helped 1,500 people return to MI after strong winds sent their inflatable rafts and boats across the border in the St. Clair River.
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The flotilla was part of Port Huron Float Down – an annual event on the St. Clair River between MI and Ontario.
More than a thousand Americans accidentally “invaded” global borders after high winds carried their rafts and boats into Canada.
The straggling US citizens had to be rescued by all of Sarnia police, the OPP, the Canadian Coast Guard, Canada Border Service Agency, as well as workers from a nearby chemical company, Lanxess Canada.
“They were pushed over pretty quickly, and because they had no control over these dinghies and the wind was basically directing them and the current, they ended up over here”, Sarnia Police Const. John Sottosanti told CTV Network. There were long waits and long lines.
The local Sarnia police department live-tweeted the whole fiasco as they tried to safely return the revelers back to their home country.
“Hundreds of individuals being shipped back by bus with police escorts”, Sarnia police wrote on Twitter.
“The people who take part in this are not mariners”.
The floaters were ferried by bus back to the USA after being greeted by Canadian police.
Sarnia city workers spent several hours Monday picking up beer cans, coolers, rafts even picnic tables that washed up on the Canadian shore, said spokeswoman Katarina Ovens.
“We had to pull a lot of people out of the water and say “no”, Mr Garapick said.
According to the Times Herald, the US Coast Guard helped 125 people back to shore who were unable to get there on their own, and they saved 40 lives.
The next day the event organizers even posted a thank you on their Facebook page: “You’ve shown us true kindness and what it means to be incredible neighbors!”
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A Port Huron Float Down event Facebook page thanked our Canadian neighbors for the rescue.
