On March 21, Vitebsk / Diana Kurilo - BELTA /. Rescuers pulled a drowning fisherman out of an ice hole on Lake Lukomlskoye, Marina Fando, press secretary of the Vitebsk Regional Department of the Ministry of Emergency Situations, told a BELTA correspondent. The report of a drowning person in the area of the village of Dudary on Lake Lukomlskoye was received by the Chashniki District Department at 12:15 PM. Rescuers who arrived found an ice hole measuring one by one meter, 250 meters from the shore, in which the victim was located. According to an eyewitness, the man had been fishing on the lake since early morning and fell through the ice around 12:00 PM. The eyewitness tried to provide assistance, but it was impossible to get closer than 30 meters to the victim: the ice was loose and broke underfoot. A rescuer in a diving suit on a safety line was sent to the ice hole with the victim by the personnel of the Chashniki District Department of Emergency Situations' non-staff diving service. After 20 minutes, the diver secured the line to the victim and, with the help of colleagues, pulled him out of the water onto the ice. The man was taken to the shore on a stretcher and handed over to an ambulance crew. The victim turned out to be a 63-year-old pensioner. He was taken to the Novolukoml Central District Hospital diagnosed with general hypothermia. This is the second accident on Lake Lukomlskoye in the past 24 hours. As reported, on March 20, around 6:00 PM, a 72-year-old ice fishing enthusiast drowned here. The first victim of melting ice in the Vitebsk region on March 6 was a six-year-old girl from Lepel District. Employees of the Ministry of Emergency Situations and the ОСВОД (Water Rescue Service) urge residents of the region to pay the utmost attention to safety measures when near water bodies, and not to endanger their lives for the sake of illusory pleasure. -0-

BELTA