April 01, 2007	Sunday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 12, 1428

MOSCOW, March 31: Rescuers on Saturday recovered about 70 fishermen from an ice floe that broke away from Russia’s far eastern coast in high winds near Vladivostok, the RIA-Novosti news agency reported.

The rescuers used a hovercraft to bring a first group of 30 people back to the mainland but high waves prevented another hovercraft returning and it had to disembark its payload of 10 fishermen on an island for recovery later, the agency quoted an emergencies ministry spokesman as saying.

The remaining 30 were being brought back to port by boat, the spokesman said.

Fishing through holes drilled in the ice remains a time-honoured tradition in Russia, one that is usually accompanied by liberal doses of vodka or other strong home-made drink.

Authorities routinely issue warnings about the risks, but these are widely ignored.

Just a week ago 280 fisherman had to be rescued from drifting ice in the same area.

Sea temperatures are such that anyone falling into the water is unlikely to last more than eight minutes, experts warn.

“As the ice in the Amur Gulf is very fragile the Primorsky province's rescue personnel and equipment are on high alert,” the spokesman for the local branch of the emergency situations ministry said.—AFP