16:00, 12 February 2011

In the Azov Sea, rescuers take several hundreds of fishermen from a breakaway ice floe

Near the village of Nikolayevka, the Yeisk District of the Krasnodar Territory, rescuers evacuated about 500 fishermen from an ice floe that broke away from the coast of the Azov Sea. No injuries were reported.

As reported by the press service of the Southern Regional Centre of the Ministry for Emergencies (MfE) of Russia, the information that an ice cracked in the Azov Sea at the length of six kilometres arrived today at about 9:00 a.m. Almost immediately, a boat with rescuers was sent there from Nikolayevka.

The rescuers installed two air cushions and erected a bridge, over which all the fishermen were evacuated to the shore, the "RBC" reports referring to the spokesman of the MfE.

Currently, the rescuers are examining the sea in the vicinity of Nikolayevka to get sure that all the fishermen have been saved. All in all, in the place of the accident, two hovercrafts and two rescue units of the MfE were engaged, the RIA "Novosti" reports.