In a daring rescue operation, a Polish Navy helicopter successfully retrieved four anglers who found themselves stranded on an ice floe adrift on the Vistula Lagoon earlier on Wednesday.
Grzegorz Rozanski, the spokesperson for the Warmia-Mazury State Border Guard, reported on Wednesday afternoon that “a Navy helicopter dispatched to the operation has picked up four people from the ice floes. They have been transported to the shore and are not injured.”
Earlier in the day, Jaroslaw Skalski, spokesperson for the State Fire Service in Braniewo, had informed Polish Press Agency that rescue attempts were challenging due to the melting of ice in some parts of the Vistula Lagoon, while other areas remained frozen. The deteriorating conditions on the lagoon rendered a hovercraft, intended for the rescue operation, unable to launch.
The incident unfolded near the town of Ujscie in north-western Poland, where the floe carrying the anglers broke off and began drifting northwards toward Piaski. The successful intervention of the Polish Navy helicopter ensured the safe retrieval of the stranded individuals, averting a potentially dangerous situation.