2 people rescued from disabled boat near brink of Niagara Falls

Authorities say two boaters were about three kilometres from the brink of Niagara Falls when they were rescued from their disabled vessel by a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter.

Coast Guard officials say their Buffalo station received a call around 9:15 p.m. Monday reporting a 19-foot motor boat with two men aboard was anchored in the Niagara River about 2,000 feet inside the 2.5-mile exclusion zone from the falls.

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A crew from the Coast Guard air station in Detroit was dispatched to the scene, along with a Coast Guard vessel from Buffalo and boat crews from state and local police.

The river's shallow depth prevented the vessels from reaching the anchored boat. A Coast Guard helicopter rescued the two boaters shortly before midnight.

The boat remains on the river. The owner is arranging salvage with a commercial service company.

Lt. Cmdr. Jason Trichler, pilot of the Coast Guard rescue helicopter said in a press release "the training that we do everyday prepared us for this rescue, and it felt great to successfully get these guys out of a tough, and I am sure, scary situation."