The driver of a car, on the way for some ice fishing along the western coast of Finland, suddenly plunged through thin sea ice on Monday morning.
The driver managed to escape unharmed before the vehicle became completely submerged in waters off of Vaasa. The accident occurred about three kilometres from the coastal city's Gerby neighbourhood.
Ostrobothnia's rescue services were alerted about the incident at 9:23 am on Monday, according to on-duty fire chief, Vesa Berg. He said the car sank in a spot where the ice was very thin.
"The driver had lost a sense of direction in foggy conditions and drifted onto thin ice," Berg said, adding that a bystander who was on a snowmobile nearby had assisted the driver to get back on land.
Rescue services later cordoned off the area where the car sank and checked that the vehicle was not leaking oil into the water. The driver is liable for retrieving the vehicle.
Over the weekend the Western Finland Coast Guard reported that a person riding a snowmobile had cracked through sea ice in the Kvarken Archipelago.
Berg said that sea ice conditions have been particularly difficult this winter, due to alternating periods of severe cold and milder temperatures which have made the ice weak and unpredictable.
Rescue services in the area have been alerted to dangerous sea ice situations on a weekly basis.
"Last week, a person ice fishing drowned in Närpiö," he explained, noting that Monday morning's accident in Vaasa could have ended similarly.
Berg advised people to avoid taking risks by going out on sea ice.
"People seem to be taking pretty big risks, given the water currents and weather conditions. I've been doing this work for 36 years, so I am not pleased to see these kinds of things," Berg said.
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