10 College Students 'Clinging' to Paddle Boards Rescued from Texas Lake as Officials Issue Warning

A group of 10 students from the University of North Texas (UNT) were successfully rescued after getting stranded on a lake.

According to a Saturday, April 12, news release from the Texas Game Wardens, a Cooke County Game Warden responded to a 911 call after the students were blown off course on Lake Ray Roberts — located in north Texas — during threatening winds.

“The group had launched two canoes and five paddle boards but quickly lost control in the strong winds, drifting toward the center of the lake,” officials wrote. “Clinging to paddle boards and panicked, they called 911.”

The game warden went off in his boat with paramedics and found and rescued the students in the water, per the statement. 

All of the students made it to the shore, with one of them taken to a local hospital for hypothermia, said the Texas Game Wardens.

“We are thankful for this outcome, but it could have ended very differently,” officials cautioned, encouraging others to “always check the weather, wear a life jacket and understand your limits on the water.”

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Additionally, the Texas State Park Police, Cooke County EMS and Denton County Dispatch took part in the rescue. The Texas Game Wardens also thanked a fisherman who helped pull students out of the water. 

Named after a former Texas congressman, the lake is adjacent to Ray Roberts Lake State Park, which offers opportunities to camp, hike, bike, swim, paddle and fish.

CBS affiliate KTVT reported that students were in the water for about 40 minutes. 

In a statement shared with PEOPLE on Tuesday, April 15, a spokesperson for UNT wrote: “We are aware of the incident and extremely grateful for the response of local law enforcement.”