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Skiers Spell SOS on Ice Floe After Stranded
17 Mar
Summary
- Two experienced skiers became stranded on Baltic Sea ice.
- They spelled 'SOS' with ice chunks to signal for help.
- A joint Finnish-Swedish aircraft rescue operation occurred.

Two experienced skiers, a German man and woman, faced a perilous situation on March 10 when the ice they were camping on near Oulu, Finland, began to break apart. The incident occurred on the Bothnian Bay, which typically freezes for several months annually. Much of their equipment was lost to the frigid waters, prompting them to move to an ice floe.
To signal for help, the stranded pair activated a radio beacon and used ice chunks to form the universal distress signal 'SOS' on the ice. The rescue operation, involving aircraft from both Finland and Sweden, was executed under challenging weather conditions.
The skiers were located and rescued approximately five hours after activating their alarm. Despite being cold upon discovery, they were reported to be in good physical condition, thanks to the swift response of the joint air rescue teams.




