The man who had been out ice sailing on Kungsbackafjorden near Halland had become separated from his son who was riding alongside him on a motorcycle on Thursday afternoon.

They became separated as visibility worsened due to fog. The son waited half an hour before contacting the emergency services whose job was made harder by the weather and the ice.

“It is a risky operation on ice that is breaking up. The ice can change quickly as the current can break it up suddenly. The fog in the area meant that we can’t use our helicopter” Mattias Hansson, who led the rescue operation, told Aftonbladet newspaper.

Kungsbackafjorden is twelve kilometres long and four kilometres wide

The 71 year old man was found dead in the early hours of Friday morning by a hovercraft from the Swedish coast guard.

His body, dressed in ordinary clothes with no life belt was found frozen fast under the ice.