Two North Idaho teens hospitalized after falling through ice on Avondale Lake

Two North Idaho teenagers were rescued Saturday after falling through thin ice on Avondale Lake.

At about 4:45 p.m., crews with Northern Lakes Fire and Rescue, Coeur d’Alene Fire and Rescue and Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office responded to the lake just east of Hayden, according to a sheriff’s office news release.

Two juveniles were observed in the water several hundred yards away from the shore, where they had apparently fallen through the ice. One teenager was able to crawl up onto the ice and was holding the other teen, who was clinging to the ice from the water when crews arrived.

Dive and rescue teams traversed the ice, which was thin and slushy in parts, and rescued the two teenagers, the news release states. Both were transported to Kootenai Health with severe hypothermia and other medical issues related to being submerged in the water.