Boater helps rescue 2 men after kayaks overturn on Big Kandiyohi Lake

FAHLUN TOWNSHIP, Minn. (FOX 9) - Two men were rescued Monday afternoon when their kayaks overturned on Big Kandiyohi Lake in central Minnesota.

According to the Kandiyohi County Sheriff's Office, at about 1:21 p.m., officials responded to an overturned boat on the lake. The caller said there were screams for help coming from a boat about 400 yards out from the south shore.

While crews were responding, a citizen with a pontoon drove out on the lake and found the two men in the water holding onto their kayaks.

The sheriff's office said the two men, both 19 years old and from Kentucky, were out on the kayaks when one of them started taking on water and eventually fell into the lake. The second man tried to get his friend back into the kayak, but fell in when his kayak overturned.

Both men had life jackets in the kayaks, but neither was wearing one. The men were not injured.

The Kandiyohi County Sheriff's Office was assisted by the county Rescue Squad, Blomkest Fire and first responders, Lake Lillian and Willmar Ambulance Services, the Minnesota DNR and LifeLink Air Ambulance.