Moment half-naked skater plunges into freezing water as ice cracks on Amsterdam canal
- A skater on one of Amsterdam's main canals faceplanted through the thin ice
- It was the first time in three years the Dutch were able to skate on frozen canals
- Hospitals reported a massive increase in the number of people seeking help
- The daredevil was hauled out of the water by another skater who threw him a lineThis is the bizarre moment a skater - dressed only in boxer shorts - faceplanted into a freezing canal when the ice cracked under him.
The man, who has not been identified, was filmed as he glided across the surface of one of Amsterdam's main canals before abruptly disappearing beneath the water.
Footage suggests the man had at least prepared for his dip by taking off all his clothes apart from a black pair of boxer shorts and his skates.
The semi-naked Dutch man skates towards an area of thin ice on a canal in the centre of Amsterdam on Sunday afternoon
First the man's feet go through the ice and he is thrown forward and smashes through the surface
He is propelled forwards and plunges completely through the ice in front of a watching crowd
Video, filmed from the canalside, shows the skater skiing across the waterway to cheers from onlookers.
Suddenly the ice cracks under his skates and he faceplants into the water.
The daredevil appears to take the freezing dip in his stride and, as he surfaces, he can be heard joking with concerned onlookers.
Soon afterwards another skater throws him a line and hauls him back onto the ice.
He stands and takes a bow for his whooping audience before skating off. The Dutch had a rare chance to hit the canals at the weekend after they froze over for the first time in almost three years.
Some however hit the ice a bit too hard, taking tumbles that landed them in hospital despite an official plea to spare overstretched emergency services.
Dozens of skaters took to the Prinsengracht, an iconic canal in Amsterdam's city centre, even though the ice was not thick enough in all places.
Prime Minister Mark Rutte had warned against mass skating to avoid the risk of spreading Covid-19 as well as injuries that could clog up hospital emergency rooms.
But in Kinderdijk, western Holland, skaters laced up their boots for a spin near windmills that are often seen on postcards and have been listed as UNESCO world heritage sites.
Cok Hartkoorn, 71, who was watching the scenes from the canal bank said: 'Most people are usually still in bed on a Sunday morning at this time. But this ice is so beautiful, it's a fever, it grips you and you have to get out and go skating.
As the man trod water in the freezing canal he joked with onlooker and can be heard saying 'faceplant'
Another skater came to the man's aid, hurling a rope to him and then towing him out of the water
'This might not happen again for a few years. You have to take the opportunity when you can.'
Marleen Bouman, 49, added: 'Skating is so nice because we're all together in it. We're outside, we're moving. In these tough corona times that's a rare thing.'
Skating, like cycling, is a Dutch tradition, and almost everyone is said to have a pair of skates ready for when the canals freeze over.
Many had hoped that a popular competition, the Elfstedentocht, or Eleven Cities Race, would be held for the first time in nearly a quarter-century this year.
But Rutte said skating had to be limited to pairs under anti-coronavirus restrictions.
Last held in 1997, the ultra-endurance marathon follows a gruelling 200 kilometre (125-mile) route along the northern Friesland province, and completing it is considered a true test of character.
Despite it not being held, emergency rooms were twice as busy as usual on Saturday as people turned up with broken wrists and other injuries suffered during falls, medical staff associations noted on Twitter.
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