Russian emergency units rescued 217 amateur fishermen who had got trapped on an ice floe near the southern coast of Russia’s Sakhalin island on Sunday, the regional office of the Russian emergencies ministry has said.
"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 ministry said, specifying that a total of 217 people had been rescued.
The rescue operation involved 20 people, four boats and one amphibious hovercraft Hivus-10.