Reports: Man and 2 children found alive on frozen Alaska lake 12 hours after their plane was reported overdue

By Kelly McCleary, CNN

(CNN) — Good Samaritans in Alaska are being credited with helping save a pilot and two children who survived a plane crash on an icy lake Sunday night.

The Piper PA-12 Super Cruiser and its three occupants were reported overdue Sunday in the area of Tustumena Lake and the Kenai Mountains, near Homer, the Associated Press reported.

Roughly 12 hours later, the wreckage and three survivors were spotted by someone who was helping search, CNN affiliate KTUU reported.

Dale Eicher, who has a background in search and rescue, had just started his own search when he heard over the radio the downed aircraft had been spotted on a frozen-over Tustumena Lake, he told KTUU.

“I called the troopers immediately because I was still in cell service and I knew it was a really good chance that the guy that had found him was not in cell service,” Eicher told the outlet. “I was really shocked. I didn’t expect that we would find them. I didn’t expect that we would find them alive for sure … it doesn’t always turn out this well.”

After rescuers arrived, the survivors were taken to a hospital for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries, KTUU said. The three are immediate family members, Alaska State Troopers spokesperson Austin McDaniel told the AP.

The rescue was touted as “remarkable and good news” by National Transportation Safety Board Western Pacific Region Chief Dennis Hogenson, KTUU reported.

Investigators working to determine the cause of the crash will interview the pilot and work on recovering the plane, Hogenson said.

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