Confession of an eyewitness

My daughter and I, in a Mercedes Bus 310, were at the epicenter of the flood from 9:30 pm - 500 m before the entrance to Nizhnyaya Bakanka. In a place where the mountains form a narrow neck before entering the plain. By the way, a police car with a flashing light was parked in front of the entrance to this gorge, but everyone was allowed through - both buses and cars - although the water was already 30 cm deep. It was raining, and the cops did not want to urinate. Dozens of people died because of them!!!! THEY WERE AWARE OF THE THREAT OF FLOODING BUT DID NOTHING!!! At 10.00 there was 1 meter of water, at 22.20 - 22.30 cars began to wash away. But the water had no speed yet. 6 cars hit our bus, because... it turned out that I was standing right in the middle of the stream. "Bus" 3 meters high was loaded with furniture.

I reassured everyone that our Ministry of Emergency Situations in Russia is the best in the world, the army will bring boats, tanks, they will definitely save us. That the police know that Russia has the best helicopters. The Ministry of Emergency Situations is about to arrive. BUT????? At 23.00 the water was about 1.8 - 2 meters, I pulled a family from Samara out of the water, Andrei and Lena were driving a "nine" (forgot their last name), and then it began. A white “six” sank behind the bus. Four people tried to get out, stood on the roof, but they were carried away in a minute, the first one to fall into the water was a child of about two years old and immediately disappeared into the stream. The woman rushed after him, followed by two men, but they swam in the wrong direction. They were carried into the river bed, and after about 50 meters they were swallowed up in whirlpools.

At 24.00 - 01.00 the first strong surge of water. The water height is about 2.5-3 meters. "Bus" was completely flooded and carried away. The daughter hit her head on the counter and lost consciousness. I held her above the water, and after a few minutes she came to her senses. When I climbed out the window, I almost got carried away; I finally managed to grab the rear overhead tail light. Then Andrei and I pulled everyone out onto the roof. Water, or rather, a hellishly seething mess of clay, boards, trees and branches, corpses of chickens, animals and PEOPLE!! (The corpse of a man floated nearby). And this is accompanied by a tropical downpour (but very cold). We waited for help from the Ministry of Emergency Situations, we prayed for it, but there was no help. The Ministry of Emergency Situations answered us - we cannot help, pray. By the way, my daughter and I spent more than 8 hours in the water and were so frozen that it seemed that our heart would stop just a little bit longer. At first there was no water on the roof. Then again the water rose by 20-30 cm. We held on for another 2 hours, there was a fire truck about 100 meters away from us, there were three or four firefighters there, they escaped, sometimes they shined a flashlight in our direction, they all saw what happened to us, but at 4.00 in 5-10 minutes the water rose another meter. It seemed as if a dam had simply broken somewhere or water had been dumped into an emergency spillway. Well, the water couldn’t add a meter twice during the night in a matter of minutes.

Andrey was the first to be washed away. Then his wife, she was holding on to my jacket. She kept saying that she couldn’t swim. But she didn’t have enough strength: the flow was just crazy. We didn’t have the strength to hold on any longer. The stream tore off my belt with money and documents. But at that moment it seemed like just a minor nuisance. After reading the Lord’s Prayer, we read it together and out loud, we rushed into the stream in the opposite direction from the riverbed, towards the railway tracks, I held my daughter by the T-shirt as hard as I could. I am amazed at her resilience and courage, how she had the strength to stand in a T-shirt and shorts for 8 hours in very cold water. There was no panic, she just said: “Dad, we’ll probably die, I won’t swim out,” but without hysterics, tears, just looking into the water, while the stream raged fiercely.

In the rain, in complete darkness, with the last of our strength we rowed against the current to the treetops. At the first tree, which later turned out to be about 5 meters high, I managed to grab a branch, but it broke, and we were immediately dragged under the water, and we barely swam out, then we swam up to a tree - an apple tree with apples on the top, 6 meters high. and caught our breath for about 5 minutes. By the way, this was the last tree on the way to salvation; further on we would have been carried away into the river bed. People were screaming everywhere, crying, “help, save, we’re drowning!” It was so scary.

We waited 8 hours for help! Where is our army, police, vaunted Ministry of Emergency Situations. Next we swam to the railway embankment. But there was also one and a half meters of water there. We tried to rest at the support, but the current knocked us off our feet. We were carried away again, began to hit the stones, I hit my leg and knee. We were carried back into the depths, our strength simply ran out, it seemed to me that our end had come. I am a fairly strong man: Master of Sports of the USSR in sambo and judo. And with all that, I felt like a grain of sand, I simply no longer had physical strength, but I had spirit, anger, and I said to myself: “I have no right to die. I have a wife and two more children at home. If I die, my family will die together.” with me". Survive, stay afloat, and at that moment the main thing is to save my daughter. It was incredibly difficult, more difficult than ever. But suddenly we were carried to the top of a tree, and we caught on thin branches (only 2-3 mm), once again saving ourselves. In the light of lightning I saw a tree sticking out of the water about 5 meters. And again we swam. The current began to carry us away, but we managed to reach the branch. I tried to reach the bottom, but I couldn’t reach it, it had handles. He pushed his daughter onto a willow branch. Then he got out himself. A meter above the water there was a fork of branches; I broke small branches and somehow dragged my daughter there. He stood on a thin branch in the water. My daughter felt bad: she vomited. She complained that she couldn't feel her legs. I pressed her legs to my stomach and tried to warm her up. People were constantly screaming and crying. It was dark, but not so scary. We realized that we had been saved by a miracle. It was raining like buckets. We were terribly cold. I'm wearing wet jeans and a jacket. I can give everyone advice - even with wet clothes it’s warmer than without them. Another half hour or hour passed. At that moment there was a complete blackout, it seemed to me that I could even pass out for about 5 minutes.

I woke up again to the screams of people calling for help, dozens of people were screaming. People with lanterns walked along the shore. We shouted, but in response there was silence, after about 15 minutes the light of the lantern returned. People responded. We asked to be shown where to sail. After everything we had experienced, it was scary to throw ourselves into the water again. But we did it again, after swimming another 20-30 meters we somehow climbed ashore. Joy and happiness knew no bounds; we saw a group of a man and a woman with a 10-month-old child and another man. They also miraculously escaped. And it’s an even greater miracle how they managed to save the baby. We sat under the tree for some time. The rain did not stop. It's starting to dawn. The water began to drain sharply. We went towards N. Bakanka to the first house, it turned out that a family of Meskhetian Turks lived there. What good people. The water was leaving quickly, we went straight to the car.

The asphalt opened and the first police arrived. It was the police from Anapa. And also the Ministry of Emergency Situations. But they only took out their own people from the fire pit that stood in front of us. I climbed into the Bus, it was lying on its side. I was able to find passports, some documents from the bank (the furniture I bought from IKEA on credit turned into a pile of crap in a half-meter layer of dirt. All equipment, phones, I-PAD2 - everything was gone (if anyone is interested, I’ll send a photo).

We asked the police officer what we should do, where to call, but everyone kicked us off. After an hour of useless telephone conversations, we were together with the victim from Kursk (his Chevrolet Lanos car was also completely destroyed), and his wife and child were also miraculously saved themselves and turned to representatives of the Ministry of Emergency Situations for help. And one of them said that why the hell did we come here, like if we hadn’t gone, nothing would have happened. These are the crap rescuers we have. When asked for water and food, he said that he did not decide this, the leadership of the Ministry of Emergency Situations began to arrive in jeeps, brand new, in suede shoes, and we were covered in mud, wet, hungry, beaten. And here there is no ambulance, no kitchen, no sympathy. Crimean TV arrived. They were filming cars, corpses of people lying on the side of the road. Nobody takes them away. They interviewed me and asked how much water there was. It was at least 4-4.5 meters. They asked if it was scary? How it all happened. Then, thanks to the Anapa traffic cops, they sent us to school. And here is a separate topic.

When they show on TV how the victims are taken care of, how they are given water, warmth, food - don’t believe it. If we call twenty buns, a loaf of boiled sausage and 5 liters of drink food for exhausted people? And instead of blankets, compassionate teachers gave us a rag for cleaning the floor. People slept on the floor, no mattresses, no blankets, no tea, no hot food. But there was a woman - the head of the Nizhnyaya Bakanka Administration. Everyone received certificates stating that we had suffered from the flood. She promised that within half an hour they would bring mattresses, blankets, clothes, and slippers, because... the majority were barefoot. And she promised to bring hot food urgently. We waited for several hours, and at lunchtime, without waiting, we all went back to our cars, to the site of the tragedy. I have more than a dozen people with addresses and phone numbers who can confirm everything I described. Arriving at the cars, we again tried to find out who would draw up protocols and draw up documents about what had happened. By the way, around 12-13 2 helicopters flew by. As they later showed on TV, the flyby was made by Our President Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, whom I respect very much both as a person and as a judoka athlete. I would be happy if he responded to our misfortune and learned from eyewitnesses what happened in N. Bakanka. We called the Ministry of Emergency Situations, the police, and the prosecutor's office. Everything is transferred to the Administration of the Primorsky District, then to the Administration of N. Bakanka, then here and there. After calling 15-20 phones, after everything we just gave up.

And then it’s even more fun. The new traffic cops, when asked who will formalize everything and get our cars, answered - the Ministry of Emergency Situations, and they answered us: “Get it yourself, we will have one crane, and we will get it, but not formalize it. Take the cars home and call the local traffic police.” . With grief, we delivered the car to Novorossiysk ourselves. There was no help from the Ministry of Emergency Situations. True, the second car of the Ministry of Emergency Situations was pulled out and left on the side of the road; it was taken away late in the evening. Again, by ourselves, with a tow truck. Neither the police nor the Ministry of Emergency Situations began to draw up protocols. They refused. They said call the traffic police at the location of the vehicle. I took this family from Kursk to my home, because they had no money, no clothes with a small child. There was no way out. Either on the floor in a hungry school, or?
In the morning there were new problems, my daughter complained of not feeling well, my leg and knee were swollen after being hit, Basov from Kursk had bruises all over his legs, he couldn’t step on his foot. An ambulance was called. Good doctors, pleasant. We arrived quickly. They said my daughter was in serious condition (concussion, hematoma on the head and severe hypothermia), Basov had a possible fracture, and I had a severe bruise on my knee and foot. Everyone was given certificates and taken to the hospital and emergency room. The doctor (it’s hard to call him a doctor) lets his daughter go home, telling her that there’s nothing to invent, there was no serious flooding there, there was half a meter of water, he saw everything on TV. At the same time, he asked questions like, admit who hit you on the head! And in the evening she again vomited and had a headache. Where is the truth?

Resentment and anger overwhelms me, are people really so callous? It’s night now, and I’m writing my terrible confession. No answers have been received yet. The help promised so far too. But to all of you who read this, I promise to write further how it ends. A miracle might happen. After everything we had been through, we just wanted a little sympathy, human warmth after this terrible and cold night. The most terrible thing in my life.

If anyone has any information about the family from Samara - Andrei (50 years old) and Lena (45 years old), please tell me if they are alive? My email is mysail@km.ru. The author’s mobile phone number has been removed from the public, if anyone needs it, write to me or the author himself.

The second part of my sad confession.

I am writing at 16.00 on July 9th. In the evening of the same day (July 8), the MTPL inspector said that until there are documents from the police or from the district police officer, “we have no chance.” We went to the local police officer in the village of Tsemdolina. He said unequivocally that he also did not have the authority to draw up a protocol on the destruction of vehicles and property. You have to go either to the street. Kozlov or the district administration. To give credit where credit is due, he walked us to the administration, sympathized, and simply behaved like a human being. Thanks to him. Deputy The head of the Primorsky District Administration listened to us, but could not help, she said that she only deals with households. Didn't accept applications. They left as if they had been spat upon. The last money I had in my pocket, 6 thousand rubles, is not accepted in stores. They say take it to the bank. Melancholy, I just want to howl.

PS In the morning, the Basov family and I went to the Administration of Novorossiysk. Both my daughter and I, and the Basov family wrote applications for help addressed to the head of the city. You know that for the first time in all this time you felt true sympathy and, most importantly, professionalism. I want to believe that the cart will move. I personally knew the head of the city, he is a strong leader, you can believe me. Two girls, Natasha Manina and Elena Glushchenko, really helped the Basov family leave for Kursk today. Money has been allocated for tickets and food to Kursk. Just a huge thank you to them. If only there were more like them. It is unnecessary to talk about how we saw them off and said goodbye to them. Two minutes ago a bell rang and a man’s voice: “Yuri Alexandrovich, it’s us, your children, we’re on the train, thank you for everything.” It was Volodya Basov who called back. They are going to Kursk! From 17.00 the phone rings off the hook. PEOPLE from all over Russia started calling. But most importantly, people who suffered began to call, and there were many of them. Lots of questions. Food, money, clothes. And, unfortunately, there are no answers to most.

Thank you all so much! Everyone who called me, sent me an SMS and wrote an email. People, believe me, compassionate PEOPLE have not disappeared in Rus'. I am ready to bow to everyone to the very ground. There are no changes in my family yet. I haven't received any help yet. Tomorrow I will take people some food and clothes. I'll write when I arrive.

We ask all those affected to hold on and not give up.

And eternal memory to all those who died. Lord rest their innocent souls in heaven.

Original