ST. PETERSBURG, March 11 (RIA Novosti) - A total of 176 fishermen have been saved from drifting ice in the Gulf of Finland in northwestern Russia in an operation that has been completed, the regional rescue service said Sunday.
At 9:35 a.m. Moscow time (6:35 a.m. GMT) Sunday, the regional rescue team started a rescue operation near the villages of Bolshaya Izhora and Lebyazhye in the Lomonosov district to save fishermen drifting on an ice floe, the service said.
"By 4:30 p.m. Moscow time (1:30 p.m. GMT), the operation has been completed. A total of 176 persons have been rescued," the service said.
Despite warnings from rescue services, catching fish from ice-holes remains a favorite pastime for Russian fishermen in winter. The latest incident occurred on the Volga in mid-January when rescuers saved more than 60 fishermen stranded on drifting ice.
