Mystery surrounds rescue

IT was revealed on Saturday, January 21, that three Spanish divers had been rescued from the freezing waters of the Baltic Sea off the coast of Poland. Their boat had broken down off the coast of the northern city of Gdansk during a bad storm.

Polish rescue services picked the three men up, suffering from the early effects of hypothermia. According to reports, they had spent the previous six hours attempting to fix their boat’s engine, which had apparently broken down.

At the time of rescue, they were about eight kilometres off the coast of Poland. The Russian region of Kaliningrad and the strategic facilities of the city’s port ­ the largest in the Baltic ­ were also within reach.

When questioned by Polish authorities, the Spaniards claimed they had been diving for amber. The area in which they were located contains the largest amber reserves in the world, as reported by a news source.

Their claim appeared a little unconvincing though given they were making a dive in icy Baltic water under the cover of darkness, during a huge storm. The Polish police said the divers did not have the permits to dive or to drive the boat, nor did they have the necessary insurance. Despite this, the three men were not arrested.