Two Hikers Rescued After Falling Into Ice Floe

Two hikers were rescued after becoming stranded on an ice floe that broke away from the shoreline and drifted several miles out to sea.

The incident occurred while the pair were Nordic walking along the coast when the icy ground beneath their feet suddenly cracked, carrying them away into the Baltic Sea off the coast of Latvia.

Authorities said the incident happened near the village of Plienciems on February 21. Emergency services were alerted at around 8:00 p.m. as the ice floe continued drifting farther from shore.

The port authority in the nearby capital, Riga, coordinated the rescue effort and contacted the crew of an icebreaker located just over 20 miles away. The search was made difficult by darkness and the presence of multiple large ice floes in the area.

Rescue teams were eventually able to narrow down the hikers’ location after the stranded pair began shining flashlights into the night sky in an effort to be seen.

After an intense search lasting approximately five hours, emergency responders successfully reached the hikers and brought them to safety at around 1:00 a.m.

A port authority spokesperson later commented on the incident saying: “The search operations at sea were complicated, made even more difficult by the darkness and large ice drifts.

“After five hours of intensive searching, at around 1am, thanks to the perseverance of the Varma crew and also good luck, their efforts were successful.”

Kaspars Ozoliņš, head of LVR Fleet, which operates the Varma, said: “It happened in a matter of seconds.

“You can be standing on the edge of the broken ice floe and see the crack widen inch by inch.

“At first there is fear and shock, then you realise you can’t jump across and all you can do is wait for help.”

He added: “You have to think five times whether it’s worth venturing onto the ice.”

“It’s not safe to be on the ice right now.”

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