Around 300 fishermen were trapped on an ice floe that broke off the coast of the Sakhalin region of Russia and drifted into the Sea of Okhotsk, prompting the Russian Emergencies Ministry to take action.
Boats and helicopters sent to the region as part of the operation launched by the ministry have rescued 139 fishermen so far.
The ministry said some fishermen refused to leave the ice floe without catching their catch.
TR