ANDERSON COUNTY — Anderson County Emergency Services Division workers who were on standby on Hartwell Lake Saturday morning were called to duty and were able to assist two young men who experienced difficulty on the lake.

Mike Sears, 20, of Anderson and Grant Snipes, 19, of Easley said they had been out on the lake near Asbury Park boat ramp in Anderson County when the wind shifted the weight of the jet ski they were using, and they both were toppled off the watercraft. Sears said he and Snipes were home from college at North Greenville University and were enjoying a day on the lake with some friends.

After the two young men had been in the water roughly 15 minutes, someone saw the jet ski floating unmanned in the water and called authorities for assistance, Sears said. Authorities received a call around 11:50 a.m., said Ike Brissey, Anderson County emergency services deputy director.

Roughly 10 minutes after the call was made, another person, an off-duty lifeguard who had heard about the situation with the jet ski, brought his own boat, which he had retrieved from Portman Marina on Hartwell Lake to assist, to the accident scene, Sears and Snipes said.

The two young men, who both were wearing life jackets, said they were assisted onto the lifeguard’s boat and then, a few minutes later, onto a county emergency services boat. The emergency services boat arrived at the scene around 12:05 p.m., Brissey said.

The accident occurred roughly 300 yards from shore, Sears said.

On the emergency services boat, Sears and Snipes were provided blankets to warm up, received attention from emergency medical services providers and were taken to shore.

The men did not require hospitalization, and the jet ski was recovered.

“We were just very thankful to have somebody come help us at the time we needed it,” Sears said.

The water was rough in the lake because of windy conditions around the time of the accident, Brissey said.

The incident, he said, “points out one of the values of Anderson County having a boat and rescue team standing by (on Hartwell Lake) and being available on … weekends (when a high volume of people are using the lake for recreation).”