Skaters who fell through thin ice rescued in several places in the Netherlands

Skaters fell through the ice at several different locations in the Netherlands on Friday. At the Liergouw in Amsterdam-Noord, the fire brigade responded to the Liergouw in Amsterdam-Noord to pull a skater out of the water with an extendable ladder there. That person was recovering at an area hospital.

Also in Loosdrecht, one person was hospitalized with hypothermia after he fell through the ice on the Vuntusplas. Near De Meent in Breukelen, fire fighters also helped pull a skater to shore. The Utrecht Security Region announced that there were several other calls to emergency services to rescue skaters from the water on Friday.

Omroep Brabant reported that several skaters fell through the ice on the Spinhuiswal in Den Bosch on Friday afternoon. The three people are believed to be a father and his two children. They were able to get to shore on their own.

Security regions have warned people to be careful when they venture out on the ice, because the stability of the ice is still far from reliable everywhere. The Overijssel municipality of Steenwijkerland told people they should not go out on the natural ice. The ice is too thin in many places and skating can be life-threatening, because rescuers have to travel extended distances for such situations, according to the municipality.

The Dutch skating association KNSB also advised against skating on open water at least on Friday evening. The KNMI predicted that subzero temperatures were still likely on Saturday and Sunday.

After that, temperatures will be above 0 degrees all day starting on Monday. From then on it may also rain heavily.