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Siberian policemen rescue bus passengers trapped in minus 40-degree deep freeze

Policemen saved 22 passengers from a bus that had broken down in the Khanty-Mansiysk Region

MOSCOW, January 23. /TASS/. Policemen saved 22 passengers from a bus that had broken down in the Khanty-Mansiysk Region and got stuck in the middle of nowhere as temperatures sank to -40 degrees Celsius, regional police authorities said on Tuesday.

"On January 22, Nefteyugansk District policemen rescued 22 bus passengers from freezing on the 730th km of the Tyumen-Khanty-Maniysk highway. The car’s timing belt had broken. The highway patrolmen - police lieutenant Ruslan Kadyrov and police captain Vitaly Kozhevin - helped the passengers get on another bus that was going in the same direction," the press service reported.

The Khanty-Mansiysk Center for Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring reported no considerable precipitation in the region on January 23. A deep freeze sent temperature plunging to minus 50 degrees at night, and minus 45 degrees during the daytime.

Emergency roadside assistance

Yamal is experiencing similar weather. Traffic on suburban roads is restricted, and travelling beyond organized transport columns is dangerous. That being the case, on Tuesday first responders discovered a car with a stalled engine on the road.

"Severe frost caused a breakdown in the fuel system, which cut off the engine. The car’s heating system had also ceased operating, and the thermometer recorded minus 42 degrees. Rescue workers of the 44th fire and rescue unit joined the effort and helped tow the immobilized vehicle to a parking lot near the Karamovsky post," the Khanty-Mansiysk Region Governor’s press service noted.

Sverdlovsk Region police officers also rescued a driver and passenger stuck in a disabled automobile from freezing. "Yesterday, the Irbit District police team were patrolling the Kamyshlov-Irbit-Turinsk-Tavda highway, and on the 84th km the policemen spotted a van with frozen and frosted windows - the air temperature had plummeted to minus 30 degrees by that time. The traffic policemen pulled over near the truck and saw that there were two men in the car who were trying to warm themselves with a gas burner. The policemen helped the men find a towing cable," the regional traffic police reported.