Rescuers Clear Snow and Debris in Novosibirsk Building Collapse

At the site of the collapse of a building on Naumova Street, 350 people and 70 pieces of equipment were working. Drones also assisted in coordinating actions from the air. The Main Directorate of the Ministry of Emergency Situations (MChS) for Novosibirsk Region described how rescuers eliminated the consequences of the emergency.

To search for victims, firefighters and rescuers cleared large amounts of snow with shovels, cut metal elements with gasoline-powered saws, and manually dismantled debris. Also, during the search, they observed moments of silence, silencing the engines of equipment to hear a person. In the first two hours, they rescued two women from under a pile of collapsed metal, floor slabs, and roofing.

«We evacuated the first woman using a three-section ladder. The second, attached to a spinal board, was carried in the bucket of a loader. In it, together with a MASS rescuer, we lowered the rescued woman to the ground, securing her together just in case. I note that the work was carried out in compliance with all safety requirements, but the risk to the rescuers» lives was, of course, present,« said Colonel of the Internal Service Vyacheslav Tokarev.

After a short time, rescuers discovered a third victim — later medics pronounced him dead. The search for people was complicated by the large amount of snow and the volume of collapsed structures: multi-layered roofing, metal channels and floor beams, and under them many racks with clothing. Rescuers had to make their way through all this, creating narrow passages to the victims.

After five hours, the emergency rescue operations were completed. The area where the emergency occurred was cordoned off.

Earlier, NGS reported on the condition of the victims of the shopping center collapse.