As air temperatures drop, ice cover begins to form on the region's bodies of water, and the first to usually test its strength are ice fishing enthusiasts and children.
To prevent accidents and incidents on water bodies, rescuers recommend observing safety rules.
Going out on the ice always involves great risk and poses a significant danger to life. A person who falls into the water can die not only from drowning but also from hypothermia, which, discharge of industrial and sewage waters, frozen sedge and grass bushes. It is forbidden to step on the surface of the water body if it is loose, or if water is seeping through somewhere.
It is also forbidden to gather on the ice in large groups, and when crossing a water body, one must maintain a distance of 5-6 meters from each other. The strength of the ice is checked not by stamping a foot, but with a sturdy stick. If the ice under you becomes thinner and starts to crack, carefully retreat along your own tracks towards the shore with sliding steps, without lifting your feet off the ice and keeping them shoulder-width apart. Do not run on the ice – this can provoke a rapid split of the surface.
Fishermen are advised to go out on the ice wearing life jackets. For safety purposes, it is necessary to have a rope with you, to one end of which a load is attached, and the other end with a loop is on your belt. 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 ice hole faster. During ice fishing, fishermen are prohibited from drilling holes at a distance of less than 1 meter between them. After fishing, the holes must be marked with poles, clearly visible on the ice cover.
To help a person who has fallen through the ice, throw them a lifebuoy, scarf, or stick, approaching the hole within 3-4 meters. You can only approach the break by crawling. It is necessary to provide assistance to the victim as quickly as possible, as a person who has fallen through the ice is at risk of hypothermia. To warm up the victim, remove their wet clothes, rub their body, provide dry underwear and hot drinks.
Children are forbidden to go out on the ice without adult supervision. To avoid tragic consequences, parents and persons responsible for the upbringing of children must conduct explanatory talks on observing the rules of safe behavior on the ice and near water bodies.