Downside of early spring and mild autumn: record number of drownings after people fall through thin ice
The place is the Kaletonlampi pond near the town of Siilinjärvi in Central Finland. The air temperature is minus three degrees Celsius.
Ice fisherman Aimo Räsänen, 69, uses an ice auger to drill a hole through the pond’s ice cover and then measures the thickness of the ice. "Ten centimetres", he announces.
Certainly not the kind of ice that one would describe as "strong as steel".
"More like a chunky blend of ice and water", Räsänen says.
"Five centimetres is my absolute limit for daring to come out here. Once I nearly blundered."
At its best the pond is three metres deep. Räsänen first dared step out on its ice last weekend. On Monday he already caught six kilograms of perch, while ice fishing on another familiar pond.
The mild early winter is not a cause for worry for Räsänen. Neither is the fact that just a day earlier an ice fisherman drowned in the city of Kuopio only 20 kilometres away. "Lack of knowledge and experience", Räsänen shrugs.
According to the local newspaper, however, the drowned man was an experienced angler and a winter bather.
Räsänen’s friend from the local ice fishing club claims that Räsänen is always among the first to risk it on the ice. Why the hurry?
"I suppose one has to test his limits", Räsänen admits and confesses that he is somewhat obsessed by the angling hobby.
"But I would not urge anyone else to rush out here", he says.
The Northern Savo rescue services issue a reminder that no one should chance it just yet. "People lack the ability to read the conditions", rescue chief Erkki Asikainen frets.
The cold statistics reveal that this year no less than 26 people have already drowned by falling through the ice. The corresponding figure for the whole of last year was 13. In the Province of Savo more people have perished this way then ever before.
According to education analyst Vesa Kälviäinen of the Finnish Association for Swimming Instruction and Life Saving (SUH), it is a question pertaining to the Finnish culture and mentality. Perseverance is the key when educating the nation and trying to change their ingrained habits.
On Tuesday, hydrologist Johanna Korhonen of Finland’s environmental administration received information concerning the thickness of ice in various parts of the country. South of the city of Oulu no readings were received, as the ice was either too thin to be measured, or there was not any.
In some cases, the norm would be for a coating of ice of more than 10 cm by this stage of the year.
Helsingin Sanomat
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| 21.11.2007 - TODAY |
 Downside of early spring and mild autumn: record number of drownings after people fall through thin ice |
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