A strong storm in the Baltic Sea has covered a Russian beach in amber, prompting residents to rush to the shoreline to collect the precious stones.
"Town residents and tourists were picking up small and medium-sized pieces of amber from seaweed and sand from dawn till dusk," one resident told the news agency Interfax. "Even pensioners forgot their ailments and age and scratched frozen soil with sticks like babies in a sandpit."
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Amber, a valuable gemstone used in jewellery and perfume manufacturing, can often be found on the beaches near the town of Pionersky, but never before has it been seen in such large quantities. It is present in the sea floor and is often cast up by powerful waves and can be collected by hand or by dredging.
More than 90 per cent of the world's extractable amber is in Russia's Kaliningrad region between Poland and Lithuania, where it formed about 50 million years ago, according to the St Petersburg Times.
It is a significant source of income for that part Russia, with the local Kaliningrad amber factory producing more than 250 tonnes of amber last year.
The "free gift from nature", which coincided with Orthodox Christmas Eve, was a welcome present for residents of the region, who are facing a growing economic crisis.
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