Watch: Russian rescues 139 fishermen who refused to leave iceberg without a catch
A Russian emergency operation rescued 139 stranded fishermen who had initially refused help because they had not caught any fish.
The group drifted over a mile out to sea after the ice sheet they were standing on broke away from the shore of the remote far-eastern Sakhalin island on Wednesday.
An airlift rescue operation was launched with a helicopter and a hovercraft, but it appeared at least some of those trapped were reluctant to be taken off the ice.
Officials said the fisherman refused to leave 'under any circumstances' until they had caught some fish.
They were heard in footage arguing with rescuers and refusing to get in the helicopter.
The men were eventually rescued and were seen shielding themselves from the wind as they boarded the Mil Mi-8 helicopter.
Mikhail, one of the fishermen rescued, told Russian media many were worried about losing their equipment.
He said the group 'came to fish' and believed they would be saved eventually, or that new ice would form and they would be able to walk away.
The incident was reportedly the result of a 33ft crack of ice that appeared suddenly near the village of Malki. Some fisherman managed to escape immediately by jumping over the crevice before it became too wide.
It was unclear why so many fishermen had gathered at the remote location but emergency services had said 'some extreme sports enthusiasts' were among the group.
Rescuers said residents had been warned about setting foot on the ice by authorities as cracks were expected this week.
The region has seen similar incidents before. In 2020, Russian state media reported a group of over 500 fishermen had to be saved from an ice floe that had drifted out to sea.
In February 2024, at least 80 fishermen had to be rescued from a floating ice sheet near the village of Starodubskoye.
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