SUDBURY -- Ontario Provincial Police say two people were rescued after the jet ski they were riding started taking on water on a lake in Coleman Township.

Officers with the Temiskaming detachment were called to Bay Lake just before 8:30 p.m. Saturday after the personal watercraft started sinking in the middle of the lake and quickly became submerged.

The two riders ended up in the frigid water and were helped by some people nearby until the OPP marine unit could get there and escort them back to shore, police said in a news release.

Police said the two people were taken to hospital by ambulance as a precautionary measure following the incident.

It is unclear if the jet ski riders were wearing the required life jackets.

However, police shared the sobering statistic that 98 per cent of drowning victims were not wearing a flotation device. It is required by law to have an approved lifesaving device onboard for each person when on the water.