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Russian snowmobile crash survivor to be taken to Russia on Saturday

The Russian was driving a snowmobile on the night of January 4
Photo EPA/ITAR-TASS
Photo EPA/ITAR-TASS

ROME, January 11 (Itar-Tass) - A Russian hurt in a snowmobile accident in the Alps in northern Italy will be airlifted to Russia on Saturday, the Russian General Consulate in Milan reported on Friday.

The Russian diplomats told Itar-Tass that they had organized the dispatch of the body of Boris Yudin who received serious injuries and was undergoing treatment in the hospital of the town of Trento jointly with insurance companies.

"A regular flight will take Yudin from Venice to his native Krasnodar via Moscow. A special place will be organized for the injured passenger who has to stay in a horizontal position. A doctor from Russia will accompany him on the trip,” the Russian General Consulate said.

Yudin’s compatriot, Azat Yagafarov, who drove the snowmobile, is staying in custody in the hospital in Trento. Local prosecutors investigating the crash have issued a warrant for Yagafarov’s arrest. He’s being charged with unintentional murder of one or several persons (the accident claimed the lives of six Russians). He was placed in a special hospital ward for persons who are under investigation. Yagafarov who himself was hurt in the accident continues receiving medical aid in full volume. Under Italian laws, Yagafarov was provided with a state lawyer who is trying to soften the conditions of custody for his client.

"Yagafarov has been transferred to a hospital prison ward. There are metal bars on the windows. This can hardly be called a house arrest,” the lawyer said. He thinks that this measure of restraint for the period of investigation doesn’t correspond to his client’s physical condition who will have to spend the next two months in a lying-sitting position.

Besides, the relatives of Yagafarov and his wife Rafilya Pshenichnaya who also died in the accident together with five other Russians from the Krasnodar territory have arrived in Italy. The Italian lawyer is trying to arrange their meeting with Yagafarov whose communication with the outside world is being restricted with conditions of custody.

The Russian was driving a snowmobile on the night of January 4. He was taking six tourists in a freight cart from the Sporting Cermis complex to their hotel at the foot of the mountain. Yagafarov lost control of the snowmobile almost immediately. The vehicle gained speed, broke the encirclement and fell down from an altitude of 100 meters.