Rescuers from the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations (MChS) successfully evacuated 109 anglers stranded on a drifting ice floe in the Okhotsk Sea, Sakhalin Oblast, on February 12.

A Mi-8 helicopter airlifted 44 individuals, while 65 others were transported to safety using Hivus hovercrafts.

Footage shows a rescuer assisting the fishermen toward the aircraft.

MChS deployed six rescuers and four units of equipment to the scene, with a helicopter on standby in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk.

Authorities reported that approximately 300 fishermen were initially caught in the drift after a 33 ft (10 m) crack formed between the village of Malki and the mouth of the Dolinka River.

In a separate incident earlier this year, more than 80 fishermen were rescued when an ice floe detached from the shore near Starodubskoye village.

Local media also reported that in 2020, over 500 ice fishermen had to be rescued from a similar incident near Mordvinov Bay.