Two motorists who found themselves trapped when their car plunged into the chilly Oslo fjord on Thursday escaped unharmed when a floating sauna came to their rescue, Norwegian police said.

A video clip filmed by witnesses and obtained by Agence France-Presse shows the Tesla partially submerged in the water, with its occupants sitting on the roof.

The car appeared to have driven off the quay at the Akershusstranda, an area where ships dock at the foot of the Norwegian capital Oslo's picturesque medieval fortress and castle.

"When the car ended up in the water, two people were, it appears, inside," Oslo police wrote on social media. "They were pulled from the water by a floating sauna."

Several floating saunas are available for hire on the Oslo fjord, both stationary and motorized.

In the video images, the car can be seen sinking under the water just as the floating sauna pulls up next to it, as people with towels around their waists on the sauna boat pluck the motorists from the frigid waters.

"One of the guests came running and told me a car had landed in the water. I accelerated to full speed in the direction of the people," the sauna boat's skipper, Nicholay Nordahl, told Norwegian daily VG, which published a video of the dramatic rescue.

"With the help of two guests, we pulled them up. They were able to warm up in the sauna," he added.

"They saved our lives," the owner of the car, who was not identified by name, told VG.

He said he thought the car was in park when he hit the accelerator pedal.

"It drove out into the water. It was a terrible feeling," he said.

The car itself was also retrieved from the water — by a tow truck.

According to Visit Oslo, sauna boats can hold up to 10 people and they offer "a warm, wood-fired sauna combined with refreshing baths, all year round." 

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

In:
• Tesla
• Rescue
• Norway