On Sunday, Latvian services announced that a group of people had been walking on the frozen surface of the Baltic Sea near the village of Pliešciemo on Saturday. However, a sudden break in a large chunk of ice resulted in the individuals being carried several kilometers out to sea. Authorities conducted a search for five hours, ultimately locating and rescuing them. Interior Minister Rihards Kozlovskis attributed their successful rescue to the lifesaving application 112 installed on their phones, which played a crucial role in locating them.

Minister Kozlovskis expressed gratitude to the rescue services for their swift response and emphasized the importance of the 112 app, which is available for free to all Latvian residents, in saving lives during emergency situations. He remarked that this incident, which ended successfully, highlights the app’s effectiveness, especially as similar situations were also recorded during the summer and autumn, again assisted by the 112 service.

This incident raises public awareness of the potential dangers associated with frozen bodies of water and reinforces the necessity of having emergency services readily accessible. Given the evidence of both past and current rescues facilitated by the app, it is clear that technology is playing an increasingly vital role in enhancing public safety in Latvia, particularly in extreme conditions like those experienced over the weekend.