NEW DELHI: Emergency services in the Russian Far East have rescued at least 75 people trapped on an ice floe that broke away from the shore of Sakhalin Island on Sunday. Russia’s largest island stretches approximately 1,000 kilometers (621 miles) along the east coast of Russia, just north of Japan.
The incident occurred near the village of Starodubskoye in the Sea of Okhotsk when a 50-meter ice floe detached, leaving over 80 fishermen stranded.
Rescue operations were carried out, assisted by a ministry Mi-8 helicopter.
Initially, local emergency services received information of more than a dozen fishermen stranded and teams were immediately dispatched.
Sakhalin has witnessed a rise in visitors in recent years, largely due to the development of offshore oil and gas fields.
In 2020, Russian state media RIA Novosti reported the rescue of 536 ice fishermen from an ice floe that broke away from the shore near Mordvinov Bay on Sakhalin.
