Karmadon Gorge (North Ossetia). The glacier in the Karmadon Gorge

The North Caucasus is famous for its beautiful natural scenery, majestic mountains, turquoise rivers, clean air. One of these places was the Karmadon Gorge in North Ossetia.

Dangerous mountains

Nature is often a mortal threat. The North Ossetian gorges have always been famous for their beauty, they have been and remain the favorite places of rest for the local population and for visiting tourists. There are numerous recreation centers, mountaineering and almost ideal conditions for those who like active recreation. In addition, they are often used for the actual filming of movies. Variety and primordial nature allows you to capture excellent plans and prospects, which is so important for the film. This was the Karmadon Gorge. 12 years ago it attracted its main attraction - the Kolka Glacier. Located at the very top of the gorge, on clear days he could see the iridescent glow over the entire surrounding area. It was this gorge that was chosen for its filming by the well-known Russian actor and director Sergei Bodrov, Jr..

On the eve of the tragedy

Old-timers always feared this overhanging glacial mass, but glaciologists (people who are observing glaciers) gave rather optimistic forecasts. In addition, the inhabitants of the village of Upper Karmadon for his long history did not recall any disturbing phenomena. Nothing foreshadowed the drama, unfolded here on a sunny, warm day on September 20, 2002. The tragedy in Karmadon was a complete surprise to all its participants: for residents, the crew of Sergei Bodrov, emergency services. People calmly engaged in their own affairs, and the team of Bodrov finished the shootings, which were supposed to start in the morning, but the circumstances that had led to the fact that they were moved to the second half of the day. In the mountains it gets dark early, 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, which radically changed the whole subsequent course of events.

Tragedy in the Karmadon Gorge on September 20, 2002

About eight in the evening a large mass of impending ice collapsed on the surface of the Kolka glacier. The blow was of tremendous power, some experts even compared its energy with the detonation of a small atomic charge. He caused the destruction of the upper body of the glacier, numerous cracks caused the collapse of the fragment Kolka. Rushing down, this mass began to entrain into its orbit the stone mud mud, the first hit by the elements was the settlement of Upper Karmadon, it was all swept away by mudflows. Geographically, any gorge has a fairly narrow passage, which is precisely what prevented the dispersion of the destructive force of the ice-and-mud mass. The stream rushed at a speed of over two hundred kilometers, and the maximum height of the shaft was about 250 meters. All this avalanche covered the Karmadon gorge for more than twelve kilometers, turning once flowering edge into a lifeless desert.

The dramatic fate of Sergei Bodrov's group

The camera crew of Sergei Bodrov was loaded on transport, but she did not manage to leave the gorge. Everything happened almost instantly. According to eyewitnesses, the entire glacier gathering took no more than 20 minutes, which made it even more difficult to escape. In the first hours after the tragedy, many people were seized with fear and despondency. Such were the devastating consequences of the event that changed the Karmadon Gorge. North Ossetia all without exception responded to this trouble. Immediately after the descent of the glacier in Vladikavkaz, an operational headquarters was established to search for people and provide assistance to the victims. Significant forces of the Ministry of Emergency Situations and other emergency structures were brought to the scene. According to preliminary data, 19 people were killed. The rescue work that was started revealed the whole scale of the tragedy, everything was ground almost to dust, thousands of cubic meters of mudflow flooded the entire flat part of the gorge, and there were no chances to survive here.

Consequences of glacial collapse

September 21 at 14.00 according to the operational headquarters, more than 130 people were killed and missing, including Sergey Bodrov's film group. However, there was little hope for the people that the famous actor and his team could take refuge in the car tunnel that was located in the lower part of the gorge, and even supposedly there were witnesses who noticed how a convoy of vehicles was heading towards this shelter. All the inhabitants of Upper Karmadon were on the list of missing persons, for no body could be found. Active rescue operations made it possible to approach the entrance to the tunnel, but it was blocked by a multimeter of ice and mud. It became clear that it would not be possible to penetrate inside quickly. So, the chances of finding the survivors quickly melted. Nevertheless, volunteers joined the operation and everyone who wants to help speed up the process. The descent of the glacier in the Karmadon gorge has caused an unprecedented unification of all the inhabitants of the small Caucasian republic. But all efforts were in vain, during the first month of rescue work, no one was found.

Destruction of Hope

Relatives and friends of Sergei Bodrov and his companions insisted on continuing the search, but the advancing colds no longer represented this 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 in the possibility of saving the group. However, the more time passed, the more ghostly became all the hopes. In the end, even the most ardent enthusiasts stopped searching. It was decided to begin new searches with the beginning of spring to find the remains of all the filmmakers. Many remember the television footage from the site of the tragedy in the spring of 2003, how meters were considered before entering the tunnel, what operations were being devised to speed up the process, 19 attempts to drill the tunnel body were unsuccessful, and only the twentieth attempt allowed to penetrate inside. All those present were greatly disappointed: no traces of people's presence were found inside. Nevertheless, the tunnel investigation continued for almost a year, but no positive results were achieved. By decision of the commission in May 2004, all searches were stopped. All missing persons were listed as dead in the Karmadon Gorge.