Mystery Car from Tavrichanka: EMERCOM Details Ice Deaths

A terrifying discovery by fishermen in the Tavrichanka estuary on the western shore of Amur Bay has been disturbing the residents of Vladivostok for two days. On the evening of January 27, videos spread through city messengers and public pages showing a car covered in algae, which, according to eyewitnesses, was allegedly pulled out from under the ice.

Off-screen voices of eyewitnesses and authors of numerous videos claimed that inside the Suzuki Escudo car, the remains of two people were found, whose identities have not yet been established.

‘Do not drive onto thin ice. A couple of days ago in Tavrichanka, they pulled out an «Escudo.» Two corpses were in it. A motorboat was going, hooked onto the roof, and they saw the car. One managed to get out. Two remained there,’ recounted one of the eyewitnesses to the incident.

‘This is what happens when you go fishing but miscalculate that the ice is too thin, then your car ends up looking like this,’ commented another man on the terrifying find.

Amid active discussion, users put forward conflicting versions of what happened. Some claimed that the car was lifted from the water over the past weekend, others that the video recording could have been created using artificial intelligence technologies. Official structures did not comment on the situation in the first days, which only intensified the flow of rumors.

On January 28, the press service of the Main Directorate of EMERCOM of Russia for Primorsky Krai reported that the tragedy did indeed take place, but occurred earlier—on December 30, 2024. According to the department, at the mouth of the Razdolnaya River, a passenger car fell through the ice. As a result, a man and a woman—a married couple—died.

The car was found at a depth of about four meters (13 feet). The ice thickness in the area of the incident was approximately five centimeters (2 inches), which, as rescuers emphasize, is critically insufficient even for a single pedestrian crossing, let alone vehicle movement.

The bodies of the deceased were extracted by EMERCOM divers with the assistance of volunteers on the day of the incident.

The department clarified that EMERCOM of Russia does not engage in raising sunken vehicles. Rescuers do not have information on who exactly extracted the car from the water a couple of days ago and why. Presumably, such work could have been carried out by private organizations.

Rescuers once again drew the attention of regional residents to the necessity of strictly observing safety rules: driving cars onto the ice in Primorye is strictly prohibited. Violators face a fine of up to 4,000 rubles (about $40 at current rates). Ignoring the ban could cost someone not only their car but also their life.