One dead and two ice cold dips. A fisher walked through the ice at Delsjön on Wednesday morning and in the afternoon another man fell through the ice at Sisjön. Both men managed to get out of the water and were not seriously injured. But on Tuesday, a dead man was found in a hole in the ice at a lake north of Alingsås.
The fisher at Delsjön was alone on the ice when he fell into the water at around 8:30 on Wednesday morning. At first he wasn't able to get up. After around 15 minutes in the freezing water the man realised that it was the bag he carried around his waist that kept getting stuck under the ice. After getting rid of the bag he managed to climb to safety with the help of his ice nails.
It wasn't until he was home and safe that he understood how lucky he had been.
"It looked a bit dangerous, but I'm very used to being on the ice... That makes you think that you're the best jig-fisher in the world..." he told GP.
A man ice skating on Sisjön fell through the ice on Wednesday afternoon.
"The person was helped out of the water by other people on the ice and could get back to the shore. We didn't have to do anything, the person could drive home on his own," says Lars Larsson at the Emergency services, to GP.
The man in his mid-60s who was found dead in a lake outside Alingsås is believed to have been dead for days. He was found by a person walking on the ice on Tuesday.
Charlie Malmström regularly measures the ice thickness of the lakes around Gothenburg. Metro asked him to look at nine lakes in the region. On Wednesday the ice at six of the lakes was thick enough, but the other three are still too dangerous.
On Wednesday, the ice was thick enough at: Surtesjön, Stora Mölnesjön, Stora Hålsjön, Norra Långvattnet, Härlanda tjärn and Hornasjön.
The ice was still too thin at: Stora Delsjön, Rådasjön and Kåsjön.
Charlie Malmström highlights that people have to take responsibility for their own safety on the ice. It is not certain that the ice is safe just because you see other people on it. And it's also good to know that lakes that are covered by snow often have worse ice quality. Ice safety tips: - Always bring ice nails, a whistle, a lifeline and an ice pick to measure the thickness of the ice. - Always be accompanied by at least one person when venturing out on unknown ice. - Don't expect the ice to not break just because you've seen someone else on it. - The most dangerous parts are usually where the ice is covered by snow, as well as under bridges and near wharfs and piers, inlets and shallows. Currents also weaken the ice.
