Mayor Reports on Bodaibo Crisis as Helicopter Brings Aid

In Bodaibo, Irkutsk Oblast, Russia, the utility accident that left more than 1,000 people without heat and water during -40°C (-40°F) frosts has still not been fixed. Work is now underway to install an above-ground pipeline. This was reported to an IrCity correspondent by Yevgeny Yumashev, the mayor of Bodaibo and Bodaibinsky District.

“Things are still the same here. At night, the temperature drops to -40°C (-40°F). But work is underway, people are arriving, the helicopter is flying. The main work will be today. We tried to make the pipeline soft, but it didn«t work, steaming didn»t yield results. As a result, metal pipes have already been delivered, welders are being deployed, and we will assemble a 600-meter above-ground metal pipeline,” said Yevgeny Yumashev.

Temporary accommodation points have been set up in the city, but so far they are not in demand, the mayor added. Yesterday, only one person visited one of them, but he received a heater and left.

Welders and plumbers from the companies Lenzoloto and Vysochaishiy, which operate in Bodaibinsky District, have been engaged for the pipeline installation, and equipment and specialists from Gazprom are being transported by helicopter, according to the Telegram channel of Igor Kobzev, the governor of Irkutsk Oblast.

According to Yevgeny Yumashev, under the plan to fix the accident, water should be supplied to the heat sources by the evening of February 1, and heating of the boiler houses and supply of heat is planned for the morning of February 2.

The restoration of the water pipeline is divided into two stages. The first section is 120 meters along Mira Street and 400 meters on Artema Sergeeva Street, Kobzev reported.

“Already tomorrow, it is necessary to start inspecting and, if needed, repairing in-house networks. And tomorrow evening, water needs to be supplied to the heat sources, with heat supply to begin on Monday morning. The functionality of the sewer system also needs to be kept under control,” he noted.

Recall that in Bodaibo, problems with heating and hot water have been observed for the fourth day. The central water pipeline froze, leaving more than 1,300 people without heat. Governor Igor Kobzev called the situation in the city “critical,” sent his first deputy Roman Kolesov and Minister of Housing Policy and Energy Anatoly Nikitin there. In the city a state of emergency was introduced from January 31.

Residents of Bodaibo told how they are surviving in their homes without heating in -40°C (-40°F) frosts. Moreover, city residents united and created a mutual aid chat: they deliver food, water, and heaters to each other. On the afternoon of January 31, Emergencies Ministry head Vyacheslav Fedoseyenko flew to Bodaibo to personally monitor the situation. Yevgeny Yumashev asked residents whose homes were left without centralized heating to move to relatives or to temporary accommodation points.