Rescuers saved 28 fishermen as they were carried away on ice floes in the Gulf of Finland near Russia's second largest city of St. Petersburg, a spokesman for the local emergencies department said.

"Rescuers saved 28 people drifting on ice floes in the Kingisepsky and Krasnoborsky districts," the spokesman said.

He added that rescuers used air-cushioned vessels to save the fishermen.

The Emergencies Ministry has issued a warning for lovers of ice fishing to be more careful and abstain from fishing as the temperatures have increased and the ice is melting.

ST. PETERSBURG, January 31 (RIA Novosti)