26 December, Vitebsk /Diana Kurilo - BELTA/. The first victims of thin ice have appeared in the Vitebsk region, Marina Fando, press secretary of the Vitebsk Regional Department of the Ministry of Emergency Situations, told a BELTA correspondent. An alarming call about a person drowning on a lake was received on the evening of December 24 from the Vitebsk district. Rescuers who arrived at the scene saw a wooden rowing boat half-filled with water on the ice, 15 metres from the shore. A person was lying in it, unable to get to the shore on their own. The ice was about 3 cm thick, so rescuers had to break it to reach the victim. The rescued man, as it turned out later, was intoxicated. The victim, who was in serious condition, was handed over to an ambulance crew. Diagnosed with general hypothermia, he was taken to the Vitebsk Regional Clinical Hospital. A day later, a call for help was heard in the Miory district: a person was drowning on Lake Yavno. The duty crew of fire and rescue post No. 15 of the Miory district, who arrived at the scene, found a woman in the reeds about fifteen metres from the shore, asking for help. The woman was pulled out of the water with a rope. It turned out that the rescued pensioner was intoxicated. The rescued woman could not explain why she ended up in the reeds. After examination by ambulance doctors, the woman, diagnosed with general hypothermia, was taken to the Disna Central District Hospital. -0-

BELTA