Dramatic rescue of deer from ice sheets

Firefighters have rescued a young deer that became stranded on a sheet of ice drifting in the Baltic Sea off northern Poland.

The team had to navigate through plates of ice by boat and use flashlights to find the stranded deer, wrap it in a blanket and carry it back to shore.

The animal was one of two roe deer that were spotted drifting some 200 yards off shore.

Firefighters managed to chase one back to land during the day, but the other deer drifted further out to sea.

The rescue team said they had faced serious risks in trying to save the second animal.

The Mayor of the nearby village Ustronie Morskie said he thought the deer had been scared by dogs, which caused them to run onto the ice.

The rescue mission began in the late afternoon, and it was fully dark by the time the animal was brought to shore.

According to the Tryton fire rescue team the deer is doing well, and is soon expected to be released back into the wild.