Washington  - One fisherman was killed and about 175 others had to be rescued on Saturday after a giant slab of ice on which they were fishing broke off in Lake Erie, the Toledo Blade newspaper reported.

The ice fishermen had crossed a crack in the ice about 1,000 metres from shore, but warm weather caused the split to widen, leaving them stranded in the Great Lake that is part of the US border with Canada. One man fell into the water, and the Coast Guard and local fire and police departments had to rescue the others near a park about 45 kilometres from the city of Toledo, Ohio.

Local authorities said the crack in the ice should have alerted people that conditions were too dangerous for the popular sport of ice fishing. (dpa)