The North Caucasus is famous for its beautiful natural landscapes, majestic mountains, turquoise rivers, clean air. One of these places was the Karmadon gorge in North Ossetia.
Dangerous mountains
Nature often carries a mortal threat. The North Ossetian gorges have always been famous for their beauty, they have been and remain favorite vacation spots of both the local population and visiting tourists. There are numerous recreation centers, mountaineering and almost ideal conditions for outdoor enthusiasts. In addition, they are often used for field shooting of movies. The diversity and primordial nature allows you to capture excellent plans and perspectives, which is so important for the motion picture. This was exactly the Karmadon gorge. 12 years ago, it attracted to itself with its main attraction - the Kolka Glacier. Located on the very top of the gorge, on clear days he could see a rainbow of radiance over his entire territory. It is this gorge that was chosen for its filming by the famous Russian actor and director Sergei Bodrov Jr.
On the eve of the tragedy
Old-timers always feared this glacial mass hanging over the entire gorge, but glaciologists (people who observe the glaciers) gave rather optimistic forecasts. In addition, the inhabitants of the village of Upper Karmadon for its many years of history did not recall any disturbing phenomena. Nothing foreshadowed the drama that unfolded here on a sunny, warm day on September 20, 2002. The tragedy in Karmadon was a complete surprise for all its participants: for residents, the crew of Sergei Bodrov, emergency services. People calmly went about their business, and the Bodrov team finished filming, which was supposed to begin in the morning, but the prevailing circumstances led to the fact that they were moved to the afternoon. It darkens early in the mountains, and therefore by seven o’clock in the evening people began to gather, and in the meantime, events took place in the upper reaches of the gorge that radically changed the whole subsequent course of events.
The tragedy in the Karmadon Gorge September 20, 2002
Around eight in the evening, a large mass of overhanging ice fell on the surface of the Kolka glacier . The impact was of immense strength, some experts even compared its energy with the detonation of a small atomic charge. It caused the destruction of the upper part of the glacier, numerous cracks caused the collapse of the Kolka fragment. Rushing down, this mass began to drag stone-mud mud into its orbit, the settlement of Upper Karmadon was the first to be hit by the elements, it was simply swept away by mudflows. Geographically, any gorge has a rather narrow passage; this is precisely what did not allow dispersing the destructive power of the ice-mud mass. The stream raced at a speed of over two hundred kilometers, and the highest shaft height was about 250 meters. All this avalanche covered the Karmadon Gorge for more than twelve kilometers, turning the once flowering region into a lifeless desert.
The dramatic fate of the group of Sergei Bodrov
The film crew of Sergey Bodrov was loaded on transport, but did not have time to leave the gorge. Everything happened almost lightning fast. According to eyewitnesses, the entire glacier descent took no more than 20 minutes, which further complicated the task of escape. In the first hours after the tragedy, fear and gloom took hold of many people. These were the devastating consequences of the event that changed the Karmadon Gorge. North Ossetia, without exception, responded to this disaster. Immediately after the glacier disappeared in Vladikavkaz, an operational headquarters was formed to search for people and provide assistance to the victims. Significant forces of the Ministry of Emergencies and other emergency structures were brought to the scene. According to preliminary data, 19 people were considered dead. The rescue work that began revealed the full extent of the tragedy, everything was ground almost to dust, thousands of cubic meters of mudflow flooded the entire plain part of the gorge, and there were no chances to survive here.
The consequences of glacial collapse
On September 21, at 14.00, according to the operational headquarters, more than 130 people were listed as dead and missing, including Sergei Bodrov's film group. However, people had little hope that the famous actor and his team could take refuge in a car tunnel located in the lower part of the gorge, and even there were supposedly witnesses who noticed how the convoy of cars was heading towards this shelter. All residents of Upper Karmadon were included in the list of missing persons, because not a single body was found. Active rescue operations allowed approaching the entrance to the tunnel, but it was blocked by a many-meter block of ice and mud. It became clear that it would not be possible to penetrate quickly inside. So, the chances of finding survivors quickly disappeared. Nevertheless, volunteers and everyone who wants to help speed up the process joined the operation. The descent of the glacier in the Karmadon Gorge caused an unprecedented unity of all the inhabitants of a small Caucasian republic. But all efforts turned out to be in vain; in the first month of rescue work, they did not find anyone.
Doom of hope
Relatives and friends of Sergei Bodrov and his companions insisted on continuing the search, but the onset of cold did not seem to be possible. Many understood that, most likely, they were not alive. But according to the well-known expression “Hope dies last,” they continued to believe, contrary to common sense, that the group could be saved. However, the more time passed, the more illusive all hopes became. In the end, even the most ardent enthusiasts stopped searching. It was decided with the beginning of spring to begin a new search in order to find the remains of all filmmakers. Many people remember television footage from the site of the tragedy in the spring of 2003, how they counted meters before entering the tunnel, what operations were thought up to speed up the process, 19 attempts to drill the body of the tunnel were unsuccessful, and only the twentieth attempt allowed them to get inside. All those present were in for a huge disappointment: no traces of the presence of people were found inside. Nevertheless, the exploration of the tunnel continued for almost a year, but did not give positive results. By a decision of the commission, in May 2004 all searches were terminated. All missing persons were listed as dead in the Karmadon Gorge.