Hardy Russian ice fisherman, 69, survives two days unsheltered in blizzard on frozen sea

A 69-year-old ice fisherman has returned home to Vladivostok after being trapped by a blizzard on the frozen Sea of Japan (East Sea) without shelter for two days in sub-zero temperatures.

As snowstorms have battered the eastern states of the US this week, Russia’s far east has also suffered a “snow cyclone”.

Vladimir Kristya took a commuter train on Monday to the outskirts of Vladivostok and walked across the frozen Amur Bay to Skrebtsov Island. He drilled a hole near four other fishermen and tried his luck for an hour, but didn’t get a single bite. At about 10am he started walking for shore.

A sudden blizzard soon reduced visibility to nothing. He called emergency ministry officials who told him he was going in the right direction after he informed them the wind was blowing on his left cheek. In fact, he was walking further out across the bay.

“I was tired, I sat down, I looked around and felt that it was a bit cool,” Kristya said. “I did 10 push-ups and warmed up.”

He also jogged up and down the ice, drank Schisandra tea from his flask and ate salted pig fat with garlic to keep warm through the night. Strong winds that would sweep you off your feet prevented him from building a snow shelter, he later said. Emergencies ministry officials were unable to trace his phone, and he couldn’t see a light projector and the flares they were shooting up into the air.