ROUGH CUT (NO REPORTER NARRATION)
STORY: Russian emergency services rescued all 675 fishermen who were stranded on an ice floe off Sakhalin island in Russia's Far East on Sunday.
A massive rescue effort lasted for several hours and involved 40 people, 10 air cushion boats and two helicopters, RIA news agency reported.
The fishermen became stranded when the ice floe drifted about 550 meters from the main ice pack on Sunday afternoon local time.
The rescued admitted they believed it would be one of the last days for ice fishing this winter.
Ice fishing is extremely popular across Russia during long winters. Enthusiastic fishermen go to frozen rivers, lakes and seas to fish through holes they drill in the ice.
