On March 10, two skiers got stuck on the ice between Oulu, Finland, and Luleå, Sweden, according to skiers. [report](https://yle.fi/a/74-20215310) Provided by Yle, the English-language news division of Finland’s national public service media company.
The coast guard described the pair as “experienced” and “well prepared” as they had been trying to ski on the 167-kilometre stretch of frozen lake between Finland and Sweden.
Coast Guard of Western Finland – stranded skier
West Finland Coast Guard.
According to the West Finland Coast Guard, the skiers, a German man and woman, camped overnight on the ice in the Gulf of Bothnia, which is frozen for four to seven months of the year. Overnight, the ice beneath them began to melt, and nearly all of their equipment fell into the water.
The pair made it to the ice floe and used a radio beacon to activate the alarm.
The rescue took place around 11:40 a.m., about five hours later.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b5/Hermanni_Islands_in_Oulu_2006_11_04.JPG/1280px-Hermanni_Islands_in_Oulu_2006_11_04.JPG?_=20070416161437
File photo of the Hermani Islands, a group of small islands in the Gulf of Bothnia near Oulu, Finland. (Estormiz/Wikipedia Public Domain.
Skiers also used blocks of ice to spell out “SOS” – the universal distress signal – to attract the attention of rescuers, the New York Post reported.
Although they were cold when found, the Coast Guard reported they were otherwise in good condition.
The rescue was carried out by Finnish and Swedish aircraft in “challenging” weather conditions, Yle reported.
