In Krasnoyarsk Krai, a hunter was rescued after waiting a week for help in the taiga following a bear attack

On November 5, an EMERCOM helicopter evacuated a hunter who had spent nearly a week in a forest hut 160 km from the nearest settlement after a bear killed his companion. Two friends had made their way to him and also became stranded in the taiga.

Otabek YusupovFirst published on tafs uz 5 November 2026 at 13:582 min read

The key facts

An Mi-8 helicopter with rescuers took off from Abakan on the morning of November 5 after several days of delays due to bad weather
The bear attack occurred on October 28 in the upper reaches of the Kazy River
According to EMERCOM, the rescued hunter sustained no injuries

Evacuation after a week of waiting

In Krasnoyarsk Krai, a rescue operation that could not be launched for several days due to the weather has been completed. On the morning of November 5, an EMERCOM Mi-8 helicopter with rescuers on board took off from Abakan for Kuragino, from where the team planned to reach the scene of the incident — this was reported by the regional head office of the agency (Life.ru). On board were five rescuers, who were to be joined in Kuragino by an investigative team.

What happened

The accident occurred on October 28 in the upper reaches of the Kazy River: two men went hunting, and one of them was mauled by a bear. The survivor took shelter in a forest hut 160 km from the nearest settlement. Later, two friends found him: they traveled along the Kazy River on an airboat, and then walked 15 kilometers on foot through the snow. They were able to help move the body of the deceased, but getting out of the taiga on their own was beyond them (Gazeta.Ru).

Outcome of the rescue

According to the regional Main Investigative Directorate of the Investigative Committee, the EMERCOM aircraft reached the men on November 5: rescuers made their way to them through streams and loaded the body of the deceased onto a stretcher. EMERCOM specified that the surviving hunter had sustained no injuries, but had spent more than a week in the hard-to-reach area. According to Life.ru, the deceased was Vitaly Yelfimov; his 29-year-old companion Yuri remained in the forest hut, where the two friends later arrived.