Two hikers were stranded on an ice floe that broke off and drifted several miles out to sea.
The victims were Nordic-walking along the coast when the icy ground cracked beneath their feet.
The frightened walkers found themselves drifting out into the Baltic Sea.
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The pair, who ventured out near the village of Plienciems in Latvia, called the emergency services at around 8pm on Saturday night (21 Feb).
The port authority in the nearby capital Riga contacted the crew onboard the icebreaker Varma, who were just over 20 miles away.
But the search was made complicated by the darkness and number of large ice floes in the area.
The stranded pair shone flashlights into the night air in the hope of being seen.
After a fraught search lasting five hours, rescue team eventually found them at around 1am.
A port spokesperson said: “The search operations at sea were complicated, made even more difficult by the darkness and large ice drifts.
“After five hours of intensive searching, at around 1am, thanks to the perseverance of the Varma crew and also good luck, their efforts were successful.”
The Nordic walkers were airlifted onto the vessel before arriving at Riga Port at around 3am, as reported by Need To Know.
They were taken to a nearby medical centre for health checks in a stable condition.
Kaspars Ozoliņš, head of LVR Fleet, which operates the Varma, said: “It happened in a matter of seconds.
“You can be standing on the edge of the broken ice floe and see the crack widen inch by inch.
“At first there is fear and shock, then you realise you can’t jump across and all you can do is wait for help.”
He added: “You have to think five times whether it’s worth venturing onto the ice.”
“It’s not safe to be on the ice right now.”
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