There are bellyflops, and then there is skating, while half-naked on a half-frozen river, into a melting patch and landing face-forward into a mix of ice, slush and very cold water.
This is an experience that at least one Dutch ice skater — and Twitter users who have watched the video footage 5.2 million times — are familiar with.
The video, posted on Monday, was captioned with the hashtag “ijs niet overal goed,” or “the ice isn’t good everywhere.”
Photo: AP
After plunging into an icy Amsterdam canal, the swimsuit-clad skater appears to be fine, if surprised, declaring his fall a “face plant.”
Eventually, he is helped by another skater who risks the same fate to throw him a rope. The man slides out of the water and onto the ice on his stomach, then stands up and gives a bow to spectators before skating away.
Wearing a bathing suit had its advantages: Other skaters who broke through the ice had to climb out while dressed in water-logged puffer jackets and other winter gear.
One woman was placed on a ladder lying flat on the ice and dragged to shore by emergency workers. Others were rescued by onlookers using hockey sticks.
On Sunday, the Dutch had a rare chance to hit the canals after they froze over for the first time in almost three years.
Hard ice proved risky, too, and some skaters took tumbles that landed them in hospital, despite an official plea to spare overstretched emergency services.
Netherland’s authorities had declared a rare “code red” emergency as Storm Darcy sent temperatures plummeting to minus-5°C, in the first snow storm to hit the country in a decade.
Elsewhere in Europe, officials asked people to stop skating on thawing lakes.
In Berlin on the weekend, police in helicopters urged skaters to leave the ice, the BBC reported .
In northern England, skaters have been trying to recreate moves seen on the reality show Dancing on Ice on frozen lakes in nature reserves. They have been warned that, in addition to the risks of thin ice, the remoteness of the lakes means that help is far away.
Two girls were rescued after falling through the ice on a river in Nottinghamshire on Sunday, the BBC reported .
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte had warned against mass skating to avoid the risk of spreading COVID-19, as well as injuries that could clog up hospital emergency rooms.
Nonetheless, the emergency rooms were twice as busy as usual on Saturday as people turned up with broken wrists and other injuries suffered during falls, medical staff associations wrote on Twitter.
However, the problem is unlikely to last. Temperatures are predicted to rise to 14°C in the Netherlands by Saturday.
BOMBARDMENT: Moscow sent more than 440 drones and 32 missiles, Volodymyr Zelenskiy said, in ‘one of the most terrifying strikes’ on the capital in recent months A nighttime Russian missile and drone bombardment of Ukraine killed at least 15 people and injured 116 while they slept in their homes, local officials said yesterday, with the main barrage centering on the capital, Kyiv. Kyiv City Military Administration head Tymur Tkachenko said 14 people were killed and 99 were injured as explosions echoed across the city for hours during the night. The bombardment demolished a nine-story residential building, destroying dozens of apartments. Emergency workers were at the scene to rescue people from under the rubble. Russia flung more than 440 drones and 32 missiles at Ukraine, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy
‘SHORTSIGHTED’: Using aid as leverage is punitive, would not be regarded well among Pacific Island nations and would further open the door for China, an academic said New Zealand has suspended millions of dollars in budget funding to the Cook Islands, it said yesterday, as the relationship between the two constitutionally linked countries continues to deteriorate amid the island group’s deepening ties with China. A spokesperson for New Zealand Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters said in a statement that New Zealand early this month decided to suspend payment of NZ$18.2 million (US$11 million) in core sector support funding for this year and next year as it “relies on a high trust bilateral relationship.” New Zealand and Australia have become increasingly cautious about China’s growing presence in the Pacific
Indonesia’s Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki yesterday erupted again with giant ash and smoke plumes after forcing evacuations of villages and flight cancelations, including to and from the resort island of Bali. Several eruptions sent ash up to 5km into the sky on Tuesday evening to yesterday afternoon. An eruption on Tuesday afternoon sent thick, gray clouds 10km into the sky that expanded into a mushroom-shaped ash cloud visible as much as 150km kilometers away. The eruption alert was raised on Tuesday to the highest level and the danger zone where people are recommended to leave was expanded to 8km from the crater. Officers also
ESPIONAGE: The British government’s decision on the proposed embassy hinges on the security of underground data cables, a former diplomat has said A US intervention over China’s proposed new embassy in London has thrown a potential resolution “up in the air,” campaigners have said, amid concerns over the site’s proximity to a sensitive hub of critical communication cables. The furor over a new “super-embassy” on the edge of London’s financial district was reignited last week when the White House said it was “deeply concerned” over potential Chinese access to “the sensitive communications of one of our closest allies.” The Dutch parliament has also raised concerns about Beijing’s ideal location of Royal Mint Court, on the edge of the City of London, which has so
RSS