Latvia's rescue service said it had rescued more than 220 people who became stranded on large ice floes in two areas in the Gulf of Riga.

The state fire and rescue Service spokeswoman, Viktorija Sembele, said boats, ships and helicopters were mobilised in the rescue operation after large sections of ice broke away from the shore and drifted into the gulf, pushed by warm southerly winds.

Sembele said 180 people were rescued in the town of Vakarbulli near the capital, Riga, as well as 41 in the resort region of Jurmala.

Rescue operations involving people stranded on ice floes occur frequently in the Baltic states, particularly with ice fishermen, who often stray far from the shore.

The ice had drifted in strong winds about 4km (2.5 miles) from the shore by the end of the operation, she said. Only one person needed medical attention, Latvian Public Radio said.