Vodka on the rocks man rescued

A Polish man had to be rescued by coastguards after he drifted out to sea on a sheet of ice clutching a bottle of vodka. Michal Kawolski, 23, had been drinking with friends at Gdansk when he decided to test the strength of the ice forming beside the shore.

But as he clambered on, a piece broke away and swept terrified Mr Kawolski into the Baltic Sea by powerful currents. "We dared him to do it and it seemed like a good idea after a few hours of drinking," said one friend.



"There was a loud crack and then he started to float away. We thought it was funny at first but then he started to scream for help." The friends rushed to the coastguard office, who had already spotted him bobbing past one of their observation posts.

"He had drifted about a kilometre out to sea by the time we got him. But we were able to get him to safety and he spent the night in hospital being treated for hypothermia," said coastguard spokesman Captain Adam Taflinski. A shamefaced Mr Kawolski later said "Well, I won't be doing that again."