BLACK BEACH, Minn. — A helicopter rescue crew from the U.S. Coast Guard’s Air Station Traverse City was launched in the wee hours Sunday morning to reach four children who were stranded on a rocky island in Lake Superior.

The island is off the shore of the Black Beach area in Minnesota, on the western shore of Lake Superior.

The Coast Guard shared news of the rescue on its social media page: “Air Station Traverse City hoisted 4 children from a rock offshore Black Beach Trailhead at 2:10 a.m.,” the military said. “AIRSTA MH-60 crew arrived, then hoisted 4 people from the rock and transferred them to awaiting EMS in a field near the scene.”

The rocky island is off the Black Beach Trail near Silver Bay, according to Northern News Now. The local station said it was unclear how the children ended up on the island.

Other hiking websites describe the Black Beach Trail as an easy waterfront hiking spot. And they mention a rocky outcropping/island at the southern end of the beach that can be a challenge to climb up, and dangerous to climb down.

The 14,000-pound MH-60T Jayhawk helicopters flown by the Coast Guard crews in Traverse City are specially designed for long-range flights and search and rescue operations. They carry a basket for airlifting people when needed, and have rescue swimmers who are trained to drop from the chopper and reach people in need of help.

Air Station Traverse City took delivery of three new Jayhawk helicopters in 2017, replacing their aging M-65 Dolphins. These Jayhawks came with lots of perks for a Great Lakes-based station.

They are a big all-weather helicopter, similar to the Navy’s MH-60S Seahawk and the Army’s H-60 Blackhawk.

The Jayhawks can fly twice as long as the older models before needing to refuel - which is a great capability to have when search-and-rescue efforts over the big lakes can last for hours.

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