Russian sailors rescue a lost dog from cracking Arctic sea ice

One-year-old Aika had been missing for more than a week when she was picked up by the crew of an icebreaker.

A fluffy dog was rescued in the Arctic by Russian sailors after it wandered off the home village and got lost on the sea ice.

The Russian icebreaker Alexander Sannikov was working near the Gates of the Arctic terminal when its crew noticed a pet by the board.

An animal could have gotten hurt by moving ships, so sailors decided to rescue it, the vessel’s captain said.

The shipowner Gazpromneft-Yamal added in its statement that the dog had no chance of returning to the shore, and could have even died since the ice has already begun to drift and there were many cracks on its surface.

The ‘ceremonial ladder’ — as the captain put it — was provided and the dog climbed onboard. Later it turned out that the dog owner was looking for the one-year-old Aika for more than a week.