MOSCOW, Jan. 4 (UPI) -- Two Russian men were missing and presumed dead and a third was clinging to life after their vehicle smashed through ice on a frozen Siberia lake, police said.
The incident occurred Saturday morning on Lake Baikal, a sprawling body of water in southern Siberia, RIA Novisti said. The lake is more than 400 miles long and is covered in ice for about five months every year, though it only freezes over completely during December and January.
Locals said it's considered safe to drive on the lake when the ice is more than 1 foot thick.
Police said two of the men likely drowned when the car went under. A third man was able to escape and was pulled to safety but suffered severe hypothermia during the incident, Russia's regional emergency situations ministry said.
