Car plunges through ice near Chita
A passenger car broke through the ice on the evening of February 3 near the Obyedinenie dacha cooperative in the settlement of Antipikha, just outside Chita. No one was injured, the Main Directorate of the Russian Emergencies Ministry (EMERCOM) for Zabaikalsky Krai reported on the MAX platform on February 4.
Emergency personnel from EMERCOM, police, and the regional search and rescue service arrived at the scene. The occupants managed to get out of the car without assistance from rescuers.
The ministry noted that anyone using unauthorized ice crossings is not immune to such incidents. Even during sustained cold weather, ice can remain unstable for many reasons:
uneven ice thickness caused by currents, springs, gas vents, and outlets of warm water make the ice extremely uneven;
under snow and a thin layer of ice, there may be washouts, cracks, and polynyas;
on unauthorized crossings, no one measures the actual ice thickness and no one is responsible for its condition.
Often, if a car falls through the ice, the driver and passengers have only a few seconds to escape. Cold water and rapid currents are deadly.
According to the Chita Hydrometeorology Center, ice cover had formed on rivers in the region by the end of the last ten days of January. On some sections of the Ingoda River, ice buildup was 9–24 centimeters more than usual. However, based on EMERCOM information, that does not guarantee safe passage across the river.
