The ships that have been trapped in ice on the Indigirka River in Yakutia will be guarded until spring. There are no roads leading to them, RIA Novosti learned from the press service of the Lena United River Shipping Company (LORP), Yakutsk.

The 15 crew members were airlifted from three vessels by a local rescue service helicopter on Tuesday.

"The ships had to cast anchor in an agreed safe place on the 465^th km of the Indigirka River before the Sypnoi Yar controlling bar because of shallow water and ice formation. The area is located 139 km from the town of Belaya Gora, but there are no roads leading to it. The ships are being guarded," a source at the press service said.

According to the source, a landing site for the helicopter was cleared and the crew was prepared for being airlifted to their destination. The cargo will be removed from the trapped tankers in the spring.

Head of the Abyisky District Stanislav Tsyukhtsinsky, told the media that the three ships were to deliver 1,000 metric tons of oil to the boiler rooms of the neighboring Momsky District for the 2021 heating season.

Oil is usually delivered to the oil depot in Belaya Gora, the administrative center of the Abyisky District, and from it to the Momsky District.