A freighter was on its way to Canada on Sunday after it was freed from ice that trapped it in a frozen Lake Erie for days, the U.S. Coast Guard said. The Manitoulin, a 663-foot (202-meter) Canadian vessel with 17 people on board,

The National Weather Service reports that Lake Erie is roughly 70% frozen over. Ice thickness varies between 2 and 12 inches depending on location.

The U.S. and Canadian Coast Guards are continuing efforts to break up ice and free a freighter that has been trapped in a frozen Lake Erie for days, officials said.

The Coast Guard has freed a massive Canadian cargo ship that had been stuck in the icy waters of Lake Erie for days. Shaq Brewster reports that U.S. and Canadian Coast Guard ships worked together to free the vessel,

The U.S. Coast Guard has requested assistance from the Canadian Coast Guard. CCGS Samuel Risley, a 229-foot icebreaker, is on its way from Windsor.

A freight ship stuck for days in ice on Lake Erie is finally free. Coast Guard ships from the U.S. and Canada circled it, helping break up the ice. NBC News' Jose Diaz Balart reports.