A Republican congressman from Wisconsin recounted a harrowing experience when he and a pilot swam to safety after their plane made an emergency landing in a lake. Rep. Tom Tiffany was aboard a single-engine plane on a Saturday evening when it lost power approaching Wausau Downtown Airport.

The plane’s pilot, Leonard Boltz, executed an emergency landing on Lake Wausau, according to the Marathon County Sheriff’s Office. Tiffany described in a post on X that as the plane began to submerge, they exited the aircraft and swam to a shallow area. Emergency responders reached them by boat.

Tiffany, currently Wisconsin’s Republican gubernatorial nominee, was returning from an event in Onalaska. The 911 call came from one of the plane’s occupants while they stood on the plane in the water, according to Lt. Cory Gladden of the Marathon County Sheriff’s Office. He stated that both Tiffany and Boltz were in the water for approximately 20 minutes before being found by responders.

Initial reports from the Sheriff’s Office suggest that the plane suffered a mechanical failure. Tiffany revealed online that he incurred a minor injury, receiving stitches above his right eye, and was discharged from the hospital. Boltz also received treatment for minor injuries.

The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board will conduct investigations into the incident.