An ice fishing weekend turned suddenly dangerous when strong winds cracked and pushed ice sheets away from shore, stranding hundreds of fishermen in the Russia.
More than 600 fishermen were left stranded on a huge ice floe that started drifting away near Cape Svobodny in Mordvinov Bay, Russia.
The Russian Coast Guard on Sunday rescued 600 ice fishermen who were stranded on a giant ice floe that broke off near Cape Svobodny in Mordvinov Bay, near the southern coast of Sakhalin island in Russia.
From those 600, about 400 were able to leave the ice floe on their own by swimming or walking across ice bridges that had been connected to the floe.
The 217 other fishermen were rescued by Russian emergency units – 20 people with four boats and one amphibious hovercraft Hivus-10.
The emergency department tweeted: “At 6:30 p.m. [7:30 GMT], all amateur fishermen who needed evacuation were brought to the shore by rescuers. None of those sought medical aid.“
— Сахалин (@_D_G_N_) January 26, 2020
According to first official reports, thin ice warnings had been released per sms. Still then, several hundred people decided to try their luck on this unstable ice. A large wave stranded ice fishing lovers in Russia in March 2018 while 40 ice fishermen were left stranded on an large ice floe last year in Lake Erie. [Sputnik]
