Ice on water bodies
As the air temperature drops, ice cover begins to form on the region's water bodies, and the first to test its strength are usually winter fishing enthusiasts and children.
To prevent accidents and incidents on water bodies, rescuers recommend observing safety rules.
This year, there have already been the first victims of winter fishing. On November 28, 4 people drowned in the country.
Thus, on 28.11.2022 at 09:49, in a water body near the agro-town of Dvorishche, Dzerzhinsky district, Minsk region, MChS employees found and recovered the bodies of drowned men born in 1988 and 1971.
At 10:00, a report was received about a capsized metal boat with a motor found on the surface of the Mikashevichi Canal near the town of Mikashevichi, Luninets district, Brest region. MChS employees found and recovered the body of a drowned citizen born in 1971.
And at 16:40, rescuers received a report that a person had fallen through the ice on a water body near the village of Salatye in Grodno district. Arriving MChS units did not find anyone on the surface of the water, but fishing gear was on the ice. It turned out that in the morning, a resident of the regional center went fishing. When he did not return home by the appointed time, his son sought help from law enforcement. During an examination of the bottom of the water body 30 meters from the shore under the edge of the ice, rescuers found the body of a 61-year-old man.
On November 30 at 20:20, the operational control center of the Vitebsk city department of the MChS received a report about a drowned person on Lake Borovlyanskoye, Vitebsk district. During an examination of the shoreline, MChS employees found the hood of the drowned man's jacket sticking out of a hole in the ice 50 meters from the shore. As it turned out later, the drowned man, born in 1983, a resident of the regional center, went to Lake Borovlyanskoye on the morning of November 30 to fish. His acquaintance could not reach him by phone and closer to evening went to search for him independently. Near the lake, he saw the man's car, and fishing gear on the surface of the ice, after which he immediately called rescuers. The MChS reminds: going out on thin ice is life-threatening. To avoid becoming another victim of thin ice, observe safety rules.
Remember, the first ice is fragile. In the near future, no sharp drop in air temperature is expected, which means the ice will not strengthen. Know that going out on such ice is dangerous for life. Dirty, brownish-gray ice indicates its fragility. Safe ice is considered to be at least 20 cm thick. It should be green or bluish-green. Do not test the strength of the ice by jumping on it or hitting it with your foot. In addition, when going winter fishing, you need to be properly equipped. Take with you a minimal set of rescue equipment: a rope, a stick, a board, a life jacket, and awls. Be sure to talk to children about the dangers of playing on the ice. Under no circumstances let them go to water bodies alone.
It is not recommended to go out on the ice if you are alone and there is no one in sight who could come to your aid, as well as during blizzards and at night. When moving on ice, you should be careful, carefully monitor its surface, and bypass dangerous and suspicious places: where streams flow in, groundwater and springs emerge, industrial and sewage are discharged, and frozen sedge bushes and grass. Do not step on the surface of the water body if it is loose, or if water is visible somewhere.
It is also forbidden to gather on the ice in large groups, and when crossing a water body, you must maintain a distance of 5-6 meters from each other. The strength of the ice is checked not by hitting it with your foot, but with a strong stick. If the ice under you becomes thinner and begins to crack, carefully retreat along your own tracks to the shore with sliding steps, without lifting your feet from the ice and spreading them shoulder-width apart. Do not run on the ice – this can provoke a rapid cracking of the surface.
Fishermen are recommended to go out on the ice in life jackets. For safety, it is necessary to have a rope with you, to one end of which a weight is attached, and the other end with a loop is at the waist. In case of falling through the ice, such a device will help the fisherman stay on the water longer, and rescuers - to pull him out of the hole faster. During fishing from the ice, fishermen are forbidden to make holes at a distance of less than 1 meter between them. After fishing, the holes must be marked with markers clearly visible on the ice.
To help a person who has fallen through the ice, you need to throw him a belt, scarf, or stick, approaching the hole by 3-4 meters. You can only approach the hole by crawling. Provide assistance to the victim quickly, as a person who has fallen through the ice is at risk of hypothermia. To warm the victim, it is necessary to remove his wet clothes, rub his body, give him dry clothes and hot drinks.