Instructor explains how the tragedy could have happened with the Belarusian woman carried away by the current near Murmansk

In Russia's Murmansk region, the search continues for a 58-year-old Belarusian citizen. She went missing on January 1st during a group ice-floating session in the Tuloma River. This is a type of extreme recreation where a person floats in icy water in a special wetsuit.

Investigators have opened a criminal case under Part 1 of Article 238 of the Russian Criminal Code — provision of services that do not meet the safety requirements for the life or health of consumers.

It is known that the ice-floating was conducted by a local certified guide. According to eyewitnesses, when the Belarusian woman began to be carried away by the current, the organizers were on the shore.

Special wetsuits for ice-floating can retain heat for up to 6 hours. They keep a person well afloat on the water, but it is difficult for an unprepared person to swim in them.

Павялічыць

On social media, under the news about the missing Belarusian woman, one of the organizers of ice-floating in Murmansk, Pavel Yermakov, left a comment. He immediately noted that the tragedy with the Belarusian woman did not happen with their company, but explained how the events might have unfolded.

Pavel first describes how his team organizes ice-floating. They conduct such swims in a closed and lit bay of the Kola Gulf, where there is practically no current. Each group undergoes mandatory instruction, and one of the main rules is not to swim out of the bay into the gulf.

«In the Kola Gulf, there are very strong tidal currents. The water level changes 4 times a day, and the difference between high and low tide can reach 3.5 meters! Imagine how strong the current can be.»

An instructor must constantly be in the water with the group, plus several people are on duty at the pier.

«All our employees are trained in emergency procedures (they have rescuer-sailor certificates, have completed first aid courses, and have experience in diving and freediving in Arctic waters). Even though we do not allow anyone to swim out of the bay and constantly monitor this (for those who ignore our rules, the swim ends, and they go to a special warm room to warm up and drink tea), we have paddleboards (SUPs) and a motorboat on duty.»

Further, the organizer expressed his version of what might have led to the tragedy.

«The swim was organized on the Tuloma River, which flows into the Kola Gulf and has a strong current. Let's add to this the strong ebb current in the gulf (judging by the time of the incident, it was ebb tide). There was no instructor in the water (judging by the news), and even if there had been one, he could only have caught one victim in the strong current. What the other group members would have done at that time is unclear.»

He notes that, most likely, none of the participants in the swim were attached by a safety rope, and there was no motorboat that could quickly catch up and evacuate the victim to a warm room.

«The situation was further complicated by the fact that it is currently frosty weather up to -30 degrees Celsius in Murmansk, and the water temperature in the gulf is +2 degrees Celsius, which causes a thick, dense fog over the gulf. Also, at the latitude of Murmansk, the polar night continues; it is practically always dark. Monitoring in an unlit place under such conditions is quite difficult, if not impossible.»

A few days before the tragedy with the Belarusian woman, on December 26, during an ice-floating session in Murmansk, five tourists from China and India were carried away by the current. But they were rescued in time and brought to shore on an inflatable boat.

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