The President of the Russian Federation signed a decree awarding five Kronotsky Reserve employees with the medal "For Lifesaving"

On that day, no excursions were expected at the Ozerny cordon in the South Kamchatka Nature Reserve (the territory is under management of the Kronotsky State Nature Reserve). The reserve employees had told the helicopter company that the weather conditions were unfavorable as there was thick fog over the lake. But about half past nine in the morning, the sound of an approaching helicopter was heard. The Kamchatka company "Vityaz-Aero" helicopter went on a flight to the Kuril Lake, and tragically crashed on approach to the cordon and fell into the water.

The staff of the reserve did not see the aircraft because of the fog, but by the sound they were able to determine that the heli flew over the lake and turned towards the cordon. A loud bang followed, and the inspectors realized that the helicopter hit the water.

The rangers team reacted instantly. "There was fog on the lake, visibility did not exceed 100 meters. We immediately got two boats and in 3-4 minutes reached the crash site, which we determined by the strong waves," Evgeny Denges said. 

"To determine where to look for people, I had to turn off the boats motors from time to time and listen to the voices. There were 8 people on the surface of the water, who were immediately taken on board and taken to the cordon. Two were seriously injured. We began to provide first aid and warm them up. We also drove around the lake several times in search of other people, but found no one," adds E. Denges.

The whole operation took literally minutes. It was the speed and coherence of the rangers that saved the people: staying in icy water could cost them lives (the temperature of the Kuril Lake away from the shore, even in summer, is as low as about 5°).

The Minister of Natural Resources and Ecology of the Russian Federation Alexander Kozlov petitioned for awarding the employees of the Kronotsky Reserve.