February 6, 2004 in the Moscow Metro, between the stations "Paveletskaya" and "Avtozavodskaya", there was a terrorist attack with a large number of victims and wounded. It has been several years since that memorable day, but people have not forgotten about the tragedy, and on this day streams of mourners flock to the Avtozavodskaya metro station, laying flowers in memory of the victims of the attack.
Explosion in the subway tunnel
In the morning, at 8 hours 32 minutes, the metro train, as usual, was completely filled with passengers hurrying to work and study. This time is called "rush hour." Terrorists often carry out terrorist attacks at this hour, and they choose the busiest places, since only in this way will the maximum number of victims. The train managed to drive away from the Avtozavodskaya station only 300 meters, as an explosion of great destructive force sounded in the second car. Immediately after the explosion, a strong fire began, of the fifth degree of complexity.
The second car, engulfed in flames, was badly mutilated. The third car was crushed by a blast wave, which, having hit the walls of the tunnel, squeezed it ricochet. From the blast wave, scattering into small fragments, all the glasses flew out in the cars located close to the place of the explosion. The right windshield in the driver’s cab broke. The second carriage was a terrible sight: a mess from the bodies of dead people, a fire devouring everything around, but it was impossible to get out of the carriage, and, in general, there was no one.
The scale of the attack confirms the death toll - 41 people, if you do not take into account the suicide bomber, and 250 victims to varying degrees. These figures will increase with the memory of families that have lost their loved ones because their grief is irreplaceable. At the Avtozavodskaya station, a memorial plaque with a list of victims of the terrorist attack was installed, and a flowerpot at the foot of it. Fresh flowers are always in the vase. Every year, people on the day of the tragedy commemorate the dead, laying flowers and lighting candles.
The terrorist attack on Avtozavodskaya rallied the Russians, filling them with a sense of compassion and fair anger towards the terrorists. Also, the country recognized its heroes who live among us. People who know how to take responsibility at a decisive moment, act skillfully and efficiently in extreme conditions.
Rescue Engineer
The driver Vladimir Gorelov this morning drove the train in which the explosion occurred. He was not taken aback, acting quickly and professionally: he applied emergency braking and, using the speakerphone, asked the passengers not to panic. Then, after contacting the dispatcher, he notified him that there was a terrorist attack on Avtozavodskaya and asked to turn off the high voltage so that people would not suffer during the evacuation. Further, he opened the doors of the train and began to take people out. The task was difficult: it was impossible to return to the Avtozavodskaya station, although it was nearby. With wounded people from the first carriage in a smoky tunnel, the driver brought people to the Paveletskaya station (almost 2 km). The brave man was awarded the Order of Courage.
Heroes among us
The attack on Avtozavodskaya showed that courage is a hallmark of the Russians. Another order “For Courage” was received by the Emergencies Colonel Sergei Kavunov. A professional in emergency situations, he quickly orientated himself in the situation, organized the evacuation and stopped the tendency to panic. People quietly began to leave the scene of the attack, helping each other. Many heroes received medals and badges of honor for their courage in such a difficult situation.
Rescue System Efficiency
The attack on Avtozavodskaya showed how quickly the services of the Ministry of Emergencies and ambulance work. 20 minutes after the explosion, teams to help the injured arrived: fifteen calculations by rescuers and firefighters, 60 teams of the ambulance, 5 teams of the Center for Emergency Medicine for Disasters, 3 teams of the Center for Disaster Medicine of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation "Protection", 3 groups of psychologists.
The injured were taken to the N.V.
Sklifosovsky Research Institute of Emergency Medicine
, N.N. Priorov
Institute of Traumatology and Orthopedics, and to city hospitals.
Terrorists found and punished
Now everyone knows that the terrorist attack on the metro on Avtozavodskaya was carried out by suicide bomber Anzor Izhayev, who at that time was only 21 years old. He entered the car at the Kantemirovskaya station, and when the electric train drove away from the Avtozavodskaya station towards Paveletskaya, the terrorist set off an explosive device , blowing himself up and all the passengers in the car. His accomplices were later identified: Ministry of Justice employee Murat Shavaev, who was involved in organizing the attack and the delivery of components for the explosion, Maxim Ponaryin and Tambiy Khubiev, responsible for the preparation of the explosives. All of them were sentenced to life imprisonment on February 2, 2007.
The attack at the Avtozavodskaya metro station was the impetus for a tough anti-terrorism policy in the state. Security measures were everywhere strengthened, video surveillance was established in the subway and even in electric train cars.
February 9, 2004 was declared the day of mourning. The attack on "Avtozavodskaya", 10 years from the date of which was celebrated in the winter of 2014, people will never forget. The pain of losing loved ones, of course, will not abate, and the victims will always remember those who helped them. The terrorists are punished. But I would like to hope that the universal human dream will come true - to live in a safe world full of love and compassion.