“They didn’t pull out the dead, they were looking for the living”

On December 20, by the middle of the day (Sakhalin time), four vessels were conducting search operations in the area of ​​the sinking of the Kolskaya drilling rig in the Sea of ​​Okhotsk. Another ship will approach the search area on December 21

On December 20, by the middle of the day (Sakhalin time), four vessels were conducting search operations in the area of ​​the sinking of the Kolskaya drilling rig in the Sea of ​​Okhotsk. Another ship will approach the search area on December 21

During the day, four aircraft are scheduled to fly to the search area - two Mi-8 helicopters of the Aviashelf company, as well as a Mi-8 helicopter and an An-74 aircraft of the Far Eastern Aviation Rescue Center of the Russian Emergencies Ministry. Rescue operations are coordinated by the Marine Rescue Sub-Center of Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk of the Russian Ministry of Transport.

The Kolskaya icebreaker was towed by the Magadan icebreaker and the Neftegaz-55 TBS, which was led by a captain with 30 years of experience M. Tersin. Upon the arrival of the TBS "Neftegaz-55" in the drilling area, Tersin and a representative of the insurance company Noble Denton moved to the "Kolskaya". The surveyor (marine expert) completely inspected the installation and signed a certificate of its readiness for towing. At that time, there was a favorable five-day forecast. The weather deteriorated suddenly. Tersin decided to drift towards Kamchatka and the Kuril Islands. But there was a break in one towing strand, the Kola lost its stability and capsized.

Rescued 24-year-old South Sakhalin resident Sergei Grauman, who worked at the drilling rig as an assistant driller, told Novaya Gazeta how the tragedy happened. According to him, due to a strong storm, the platform started to leak, water began to flood the drilling rig. The people on board tried to plug the leak, but the PBU nose began to go under water. SOS signaled. Everyone was gathered in the rest room and told that a helicopter was due to arrive. At first there was no panic, they believed in salvation. The drillers and crew divided into groups and began to prepare lifeboats on the port side in case the Kola went down. But soon there was a rumor that the helicopter would not arrive, and then the panic began.

“People all gathered in one corner,” recalls Sergey, “and a strong roll began. Everything happened like in a movie. People were climbing on the stern to jump into the water, everyone was shouting. Sergei, as it seemed to him, spent about four hours in the water until the tugboats arrived. “The waves were very big, people were swimming around, but they did not show signs of life, they did not pull them out, they were looking for the living.”

The causes of the disaster are being investigated by the transport prosecutor's office and Rostransnadzor. Expert organizations recognized in the world will be involved in the investigation.

JSC promises to provide financial assistance to the families of the dead and rescued sailors. The estimated amount of payments will be 3 million rubles per family.

In the Main Departments of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Russia, hotline telephones work:
in the Sakhalin region - 8 4242 72-99-99 and 49-70-24;
in the Murmansk region - 8 8152 39-99-99;
in the Magadan region - 8 4132 60-77-27.