Five Youths Rescued from Stalled Car on Volga Ice
Rescue services were dispatched overnight on January 23 to save five young people stuck in a stalled car on the Volga ice near Dubovka, Volgograd Oblast.
Feb 4, 2026 0
Young guys went for a ride near the gully but did not account for the weather conditions.
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Emergency assistance from rescuers and an air-cushion vehicle was required on the night of January 23 for a group of young people stuck with a stalled car in snow hummocks under a high cliff on the Volga bank on the outskirts of Dubovka.
The rescue team used an air-cushion vehicle to reach the stranded car on the ice.
Source:
As told to a V1.RU correspondent at the State Budgetary Institution «Rescue Service,» a call to the Dubovsky search and rescue unit came around midnight. According to the person who sought help, five people were freezing in a Russian-made car.
«Five young guys, around 20 years old, were riding in a VAZ car. At that age, it allows for nighttime entertainment,» said the State Budgetary Institution «Rescue Service.» «They got stuck, and very badly, and couldn»t get out on their own. They started calling emergency services. The temperatures are extremely cold right now. They could have frozen to death, naturally.«
The head of the Dubovsky search and rescue unit, Sergei Novikov, said that the young people drove down to the Volga in the car but couldn«t climb back up.
«On the edge of Dubovka, there is a gully called »Vodyanaya.« The guys say they descended to the shore, and since it»s winter now and all the slopes are covered in snow, they couldn«t climb back up — the slopes are steep, with cliffs up to 20 meters,» said Sergei Novikov. «They decided to drive along the shore on the ice to Dubovka and, I suppose, exit near the beach area. But there, due to a strong blizzard, snowdrifts had formed. They drove into one of the snowdrifts and got stuck. Something happened to the engine, and the motor stalled. They started freezing. Moreover, everything was covered by the blizzard, and visibility was very poor.»
To help the stuck group, rescue service employees went out on the air-cushion vessel «Kaiman,» which can move on water, ice, and snow. The young people were found, extracted from the car, and delivered to Dubovka. The car had to be left on the ice.
«I say: »Guys, let«s do this. Our only task is to evacuate you so that you are alive and healthy. Tomorrow, gather a lot of people, come and push it out,»« recounts Sergei Novikov. »We delivered them directly to Dubovka. Already warmed up, on their own, happy but without the car, they headed home.«
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