Hundreds of Russian fishermen have become trapped on a floating ice sheet forcing authorities to mount a rescue operation to get them safely back onshore.
The incident happened on the southern coast of Russia’s Sakhalin region on Sunday - a remote, isolated island in the east of the country.
Reports say brisk wind and the ebb of the ice caused a huge 10 metre crack to form, leaving 600 of the amateur fishermen cut off from the shoreline.
Some were able to leave the ice floe by foot after discovering a land bridge, while 217 others were brought ashore by rescuers, Russia's Tass news agency reported.
Some fishermen had initially refused to leave the location and some demanded to be evacuated from the ice sheet by boat.
The rescue operation involved 20 people, four boats and one amphibious hovercraft Hivus-10.217.
Video of the incident shows how the men were taken off the ice sheet in small groups until they were all accounted for.
According to reports, the fishermen had ignored SMS warnings which had been sent to residents in the region urging them not to go on the ice that day.
"At 6:30 p.m. [7:30 GMT], all amateur fishermen who needed evacuation were brought to the shore by rescuers. None of those rescued sought medical aid", the Russian Ministry of Emergencies said.
On January 22, a similar incident on Sakhalin occurred when 300 fishermen were stranded on a torn ice floe near Cape Svobodny.
