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Police Clear Hundreds From Berlin’s Frozen Waters After Weekend Freeze

Authorities say ice that looks solid can fail without warning because currents, outflows and shipping keep it dangerously thin.

Overview

  • A police helicopter used loudspeaker warnings on Saturday to clear roughly 80 people from Zeuthener See and 200–300 from the Rummelsburger Bucht.
  • Officers onshore reinforced the alerts with megaphones and continued urging people off the ice on Sunday as crowds gathered on the Landwehrkanal.
  • Police said a person broke through the ice near Berlin’s Lohmühlenbrücke but managed to rescue themself without assistance.
  • Separately in Spandau, the fire brigade reported resuscitating a man who fell from a ship into cold water before transporting him to a hospital.
  • With the German Weather Service forecasting night lows of about −7 to −15 °C, locally down to −20 °C, police advise avoiding lakes and using flooded meadows for skating.