An eighth paratrooper, who was fighting the forest fire in Tuva, was found dead, the press service of the republican government reported on Thursday.
"The rescuers have found dead the eighth paratrooper from the Tuva forest security airbase in the Bai-Taigi district," the press service said.
A team of detectives is working at the place, where the paratrooper was found dead. The Federal Forestry Agency has formed a special investigating committee.
The press service also noted that the Tuva government and the Federal Forestry Agency will give material aid to the families of deceased paratroopers.
A group of paratroopers from the Tuva forest security airbase was fighting a major forest fire in the Barun-Khemchik forestry on Wednesday. The forest bushes grew in a rapidly spreading crown fire over a windstorm, and the paratroopers turned out to be blocked in the fire trap.
Only six paratroopers survived from 14 paratroopers involved in the fire-fighting, one of them got strong burns and is estimated in grave condition. A survived paratrooper Sergei Paderin is estimated in grave condition. The fire-fighter was brought to the hospital in the Tuva town Ak-Dovurak and then was airlifted to the Kyzyl republican hospital, a source in the republican forestry state committee told Itar-Tass. Sergei Paderin, born in 1974, was reported to survive on Thursday morning. Late in the evening on June 6 he succeeded to get to the camp of gamekeepers in the Ubsunurskaya Basin nature reserve.
The Siberian emergency situation centre reported that the human factor triggered the fire that is the careless handling with fire by local residents. The criminal case was opened under Article 109 Part 2 and Part 3 of the Criminal Code for causing death to two and more people through negligence.
The paratroopers were involved in the fire-fighting, because the fire broke out in the hard-to-reach location. The paratroopers, which parachute down to the ground, usually fight the fires in such locations.
The rank of a fire-fighting paratrooper was instituted in 1936 in the Soviet forest security air force. Their main task in these years was the mobilization of local residents and the control over forest fire-fighting, as the used airplanes U-2 could not lift more than two people.
Now only paratroopers can fight forest fires in remote and hard-to-reach districts along with the aviation. The paratroopers are equipped with backpack fire extinguishers and small power pumps descended on a parachute. A team of six paratroopers can fight a forest fire at up to ten hectares.
The Federal Forestry Agency reported that a hard fire situation persists in Tuva and 14 fires on a total area of more than 4,500 hectares are reported in the republic.
Tuva Prime Minister Sholban Kara-ool declared the day of mourning on June 7 over the tragic events of the fire on the Kara-Khol Lake in the Bai-Taigi district, the press service of the republican government reported. The national flags were lowered half mast in all Tuva. Cultural organizations, radio and television broadcasting companies were recommended to cancel all entertaining events and programs.
