Wisconsin Congressman Tom Tiffany suffers minor injuries after emergency landing in a lake

Wisconsin Congressman Tom Tiffany said Sunday he sustained minor injuries after the plane he was traveling in made an emergency landing on Lake Wausau.

Tiffany, who is running for Governor of Wisconsin, said in a social media post he was returning from La Crosse County Lincoln Day Dinner when the plane he was traveling in lost power on approach to Wausau Downtown Airport, forcing the pilot to make an emergency landing in the water.

As the plane began to submerge, Tiffany and the pilot exited the aircraft and swam to a shallow area where they waited for emergency responders, he said.

I want to express my deepest gratitude to the pilot, the Wausau Fire Department, and all of the first responders who came to our aid so quickly,” Tiffany wrote on his post. “Thankfully, both the pilot and I sustained only minor injuries,” he added.

His Democratic opponent, David Crowley, responded by saying he was “grateful to God that Congressman Tiffany and no one else was hurt in this horrifying incident, which could have been a tragedy if not for the heroism of the pilot.”

CBS affiliate WSAW-TV initially reported a private plane going down in Lake Wausau at 9 p.m. local time, quoting the Marathon County Sheriff’s Office, with the investigation of the incident being handed over to Federal Aviation Authority.

“God was watching over us tonight, and I am incredibly grateful to be here in the hospital with my wife, Chris, by my side. An experience like this reminds you just how precious life is,” Tiffany said in his post.