Video: Laying an Above-Ground Water Pipeline in Bodaibo

The utility accident has been ongoing for four days now. Over 1,300 people in Bodaibo (Irkutsk region, Russia) are without heat and hot water due to a frozen central water pipe.

Mar 11, 2026

Workers lay a temporary above-ground pipe to restore water supply to the city«s heating plants.
Source:
Government of Irkutsk Region / Telegram

In Bodaibo (Irkutsk region, Russia), where over 1,000 people have been left without water and heat in -40°C (-40°F) frosts, an above-ground water pipeline is being laid. How this is happening was shown in a video on the Telegram channel of Irkutsk region governor Igor Kobzev.

The temporary water pipeline is being constructed to deliver water to the pump and then to the heat sources.

Источник:

Irkutsk Region Governor Igor Kobzev / Telegram

«Currently, a 100 mm diameter pipeline is being laid on the surface to supply water to the pump, and then this water will go to fill the heat sources,» commented Petr Matveev, director general of the municipal unitary enterprise «Bodaibo Teplovodokanal».

At first, they tried to make a soft water pipeline in Bodaibo, but due to the frost, they couldn«t launch it, so now they are making a metal one, mayor of the city and district Yevgeny Yumashev earlier told an IrCity correspondent. It is expected that by the evening of February 1, water will reach the heat sources, and by the morning of February 2, heating will be launched.

In Bodaibo, problems with heating and hot water have been observed for the fourth day. The central water pipe has frozen, leaving more than 1,300 people without heat. Governor Igor Kobzev called the situation in the city «critical», sending his first deputy Roman Kolesov and Minister of Housing Policy and Energy Anatoly Nikitin there. In the city, a state of emergency has been introduced since January 31.

Bodaibo residents told how they are surviving in their homes without heating in -40°C (-40°F) frosts. In addition, the city«s residents have united and created a mutual aid chat: they deliver food, water, and heaters to each other. On the afternoon of January 31, the head of the Ministry of Emergency Situations (EMERCOM), Vyacheslav Fedoseenko, flew to Bodaibo to personally monitor the situation.

Yevgeny Yumashev asked residents whose homes were left without centralized heating to move to relatives or temporary accommodation points. The mayor of Bodaibo also told when heating is planned to be launched in the city. Employees of Irkutsk management companies flew out to help. Their resources are also being provided by JSC «Vysotshiy», ZTK «Lenzoloto», PJSC «Gazprom Dobycha Irkutsk», and the airline «IrAero», which ensures the delivery of people and cargo.