Fisherman's 'Forgive us, elderly' letter moves rescuers

Rescuers in Bashkiria received a touching letter of gratitude from Gennady V., a 74-year-old resident of Izhevsk. According to the pensioner, he came to the republic to fish, but during a blizzard, he got stuck in the snow and would have died if not for emergency services.

“Thank you to the point of tears, just another half hour... forgive us old folks,” wrote Gennady.

As explained by the EMERCOM of Bashkiria, the incident occurred on January 30. The pensioner arrived at the Karmanovskoye Reservoir with two friends. When the blizzard began, he felt severe dizziness and lagged behind his comrades, and due to thirst, he started eating snow.

Before losing consciousness and freezing to death, Gennady managed to call the rescue service. Workers at a local GRES (state regional power plant) illuminated the area with a spotlight from the roof and pinpointed the pensioner’s location, while rescuers reached him and brought him back to shore on a sled, from where he was taken to the hospital.

The pensioner said he has been discharged home, though because he ate snow, he still feels pain in his throat. However, he has recovered and is recuperating.