Spring is already making the ice on the reservoirs of Irkutsk Region thinner, but winter fishing fans still go out and drive onto it, risking their lives. About 1200 people and 600 vehicles visited Maloye More over the weekend, one vehicle broke through the ice, and six more got stuck in cracks. The State Inspectorate reminds of round the clock duty and urges people not to rely on luck, and boat operators on the Angara to wear life jackets.
Spring is taking its toll. The ice on the region’s water bodies is getting thinner and thinner, yet people do not see the serious danger and continue to go out for winter fishing.As the chief state inspector of the GIMS department of the Main Directorate of the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations for the Irkutsk Region, Pyotr Us, said yesterday at a press conference, over the past weekend alone about 1,200 people and about 600 vehicles were on the Small Sea.
One vehicle broke through the ice, and six others had their front wheels fall into cracks. Most of the passengers were intoxicated, so a tragedy was narrowly avoided by a miracle.
At present, GIMS inspectors are on round-the-clock duty at water bodies. But vacationers themselves should not rely on luck and should be more careful.
Some boat operators have already begun going out on the Angara by boat. GIMS is urging them to make sure they wear life jackets. The Angara is now plus 4-5 degrees. A person who falls into such water survives for 3 minutes.