Bonneville County Sheriff’s Office practices water rescue

IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (KIFI) - The Bonneville County Sheriff's Office had a diving training on Friday which prepared them for Sunday's water recovery and rescues they might need to do in the future.

The team put on their dry suits and used chainsaws to cut a hole in the 16-inch thick ice.

They took turns practicing self-rescue first with their elbows and then with ice picks.

Some of the team members were being trained for the first time while others were doing this for their annual training.

This kind of training is essential in this area.

"We are an outdoor community. We need to be prepared to respond to that kind of thing and hopefully rescue people," Bonneville County Sheriff's Office admin Sergeant Karl Casperson said.

The team then took turns practicing rescuing another person first with rope, then with make-shift poles and sticks to pull them out.

They later used flotation devices and dove in and carried the other person out themselves.

Officials say a good rule of thumb is there needs to be at least four or five inches of ice to walk on safely.