The Russian Minister of Emergency situations died during an official visit as he tried to rescue a film director who slipped off a cliff and fell into water.
Yevgeny Zinichev, the Russian Minister of Civil Defence, Emergencies and Elimination of Consequences of Natural Disasters died in the Russian city of Norilsk at the age of 55. The information was confirmed by the official authorities on September 8.
The Ministry, also known as EMERCOM, oversees the civil emergency and rescue services in Russia.
Mr Zinichev perished as he jumped trying to save a film director who fell off a cliff.
Twelve hours earlier, Emercom reported that Mr Zinichev had visited a new fire station in Norilsk, in the north of the Arctic circle and a search and rescue team.
It was part of a two-day interdepartmental drill in Siberia involving 6,000 specialists exposed to various emergency situations in arctic conditions. A group of journalists was at the scene covering the Minister’s visit.
According to RT’s Editor-in-Chief Margarita Simonyan, a state-funded Russian news media, the cameraman slipped and fell before Zinichev “dived into the water” to save the man. But he reportedly hit rocks.
According to Ria Novosti, a Russian state-owned news agency, both men died in the helicopter carrying them to the hospital.
Alexander Melnik, a famous film director, was working on a documentary about the Arctic region and the development of the Northern Sea route.
Yevgeny Zinichev was appointed as head of the agency in 2018. He previously worked in the counter-terrorism department, served in the protection of the Russian president from 2006 to 2015 and was also part of the KGB between 1987 and 1991.
Sources:
- Evgeniy Zinichev inspected the construction progress of the new fire station building in Norilsk, Emercom of Russia, September 2021, Free access
- Head of Russia’s Emergency Ministry dies in line of duty, attempting to ‘save a life’ during exercises near Arctic city of Norilsk, Russia Today, September 2021, Free access
- Как погиб глава МЧС Евгений Зиничев, Ria Novosti, September 2021, Free access
