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Russia to rescue Polish climbers

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An operation is under way to rescue four Polish mountain climbers in Russia, two of whom are reported to have fallen into an ice crevasse.
Officials said the men had been found alive in the Elbrus region, near the border with Georgia, early on Thursday.

The search started on Wednesday but had to be called off after night fell, Russian news agency Itar-Tass said.

The rescue bid comes amid tension between Russia and Poland following a wave of anti-Polish violence in Moscow.

Two Polish diplomats and a journalist have been assaulted in the Russian capital in the past few days.

The incidents were thought to be revenge attacks for the mugging of three children of Russian diplomats in Warsaw.

Treacherous chain

Russian officials said two of the four Poles lost near Mount Elbrus were thought to have fallen into a crack in the ice at about 4,000m (13,124 ft).

The other two called for help but communications were lost before the rescue team could find them on Wednesday, a spokesman for the Emergency Situations Ministry said.

The narrow Elbrus mountain chain separating Russia and Georgia is a popular destination for climbers but can be treacherous.

Eight Polish mountain climbers had to be rescued from Mount Elbrus two years ago after a snow bridge collapsed.

Melting ice and rock falls hinder rescue of Polish climbers

MOSCOW, August 19 (RIA Novosti) - Melting ice and rock falls have temporarily impeded the search for two Polish climbers who have been trapped on Mt. Ushba near Mt. Elbrus on the Russian-Georgian border since Wednesday.

A spokesman for the Russian Emergency Situations Ministry said sharp warming had been registered near Ushba, where the two climbers, Marta Rozalska and Miroslaw Sawicki, disappeared.

"This causes the melting of ice, which, in addition to rock falls, is hindering the rescue operation," spokesman Kantemir Davydov said.

He explained that a rescue helicopter had failed to reach the site Friday.

"Poor weather conditions prevented it from crossing the mountain pass," he said.

Davydov said the rescue operation would resume as soon as possible.

The two Polish climbers got trapped in an ice fissure 4,000m (about 13,100 ft) high. Their two companions, Marcin Szklarski and Krzysztof Parkowski, managed to get out of the fissure and report the incident.

According to preliminary information, the climbers are 30 meters (some 98 ft) deep in the fissure and have a camp stove to keep warm.

Unfortunately, conditions in this region are always very dangerous. At the end of 2002, Sergei Bodrov, Jr., a very popular Russian film director and actor ("Brother", "Brother-2", "Sisters", "Caucasus Prisoner" [I very highly recommend all of these, especially the last one, it's such a moving story]), was killed, along with his entire film crew, in a landslide in this region.

I hope the climbers will be rescued in good condition, but unfortunately, there is not a good history of successful rescues from this region given the topography and climate.

Nancy, eric,
thank you for updating us what is going on. I did not hear anything about it until today, since I was gone. I hope that Russians would be able to rescue these two young people. This would be really terrible if they would die and the world would just look at it.

Hopefully Poland will not blame Russia for these deaths! Russia is definately launching a large-scale rescue operation, but according to the news reports, the weather is so bad there right now that helicopters are unable to safely fly, and it is virtually impossible to approach the trapped climbers by land right now.

As I said, catastrophic conditions are common in this area. Weather is always bad in these places, and the topography is extremely hazardous, with landslides and avalanches very common.

But, it is the only area in all of Eastern Europe where mountain climbing is truly possible, so it is a common destination nonetheless.

Jaga, have you seen any of Bodrov's films? They are, admittedly, difficult to watch at times, but they are all brutally honest. And most importantly, the good guys are truly good, even if they find themselves in bad situations. I recommend the 1996 film "Caucasus prisoner" ("Kavkazskiy plennik", not to be confused with the 1960s Soviet musical comedy "Kavkazskaya plennitsa") the most. It's about two Russian soldiers (the popular Russian actors Bodrov and Menshikov) who become ambushed in Chechnya and are kidnapped by a regional tribal leader, held for ransom. Bodrov's mother receives news of this, and she goes to Chechnya herself to try to get him back, even meeting with the kidnapper and pleading with a mother's love for her son.

During a negotiation between a Russian government official and the Chechen warlords, the kidnapper's son is killed, so Menshikov (Bodrov's commanding officer) is killed in retaliation, leaving Bodrov alone. However, he has befriended the kidnapper's daughter, who keeps him company and makes sure he is not harassed by the locals. In the end, Bodrov is allowed to go free, having become attached to these people, realizing for the first time that they are actually people. It's a very sad film, but as I said, brutally honest, yet shows the good in everyone in the end.

It is available in the U.S., and with Engilsh subtitles, too.

I saw only Brat i Brat 2. Caucasian Prisioner is rather hard to get in Poland.. I even downloaded music from Brat 2.. <img src="/images/graemlins/smirk.gif" alt="" />

From other russian movies I watch recently Nochnoy Dozor, and I liked it <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> The special effects of the movie are like in the Fellowship of the Ring, quite impressive. I hope that there will be sequel of Nochnoy Dozor..

Is it really that difficult to get Russian films in Poland, even on VHS or DVD? In Russia, it's possible to get films from practically every country on the planet, including Poland!

You see Eric? That's it.
POland will cetrainly 'blame' the Russian person/persons who have neglected the recueing action, if that was the case, but certainly Poland will nor 'blame Russia' --> all Russians.

Ye it is. Russia and Russian culture is getting more and more absent in Poland and I have an impresion that many Poles don't care much about it. It is a shame and a loss for both sides. Reaa more if you like in a three-years old, but unfortunately stiil timely, article "Will Russia wake up to Poland in time" by Tatyana Chesnokova fro the Rostbalt agency.

It's a shame. Polish films are more available in Russia now than in Soviet times, but in Poland, the exact opposite seems to be taking place - fewer and fewer Russian and Soviet films.