Thousands of volunteers went out in Ingushetia to search for a boy who had been swept away by the current

In Ingushetia, thousands of volunteers are searching the Sunzha River for a missing eight-year-old boy who was swept away by the current. Volunteers continue to arrive at the site, and the search has stretched for almost 30 km. According to Izvestia correspondent Murad Magomedov on June 19, the search has been going on for several days.

The tragedy occurred on June 15 near the village of Yandare. A group of children were relaxing by the river when one of the boys began to drown. Eight-year-old Khizir rushed to help his friend. The boy saved his friend, but he could not get out of the water himself, he was caught by a strong current. A few seconds later, the boy disappeared under the water, and thousands of people have been searching for him ever since.

"The general group is involved, there are 6 thousand people, 4.5 thousand of them are volunteers. These are volunteers not only from the Republic of Ingushetia, but also volunteers from our neighboring republics," the Ministry of Emergency Situations reported.

The volunteers came from Chechnya, Dagestan, North Ossetia, Kabardino-Balkaria and other regions of the Caucasus. Some are combing the coastline, others are helping rescuers in the water.

"Today I participated in the search for the missing boy. We explored every millimeter, and today we were helped by brothers from Chechnya and the KCR, and there were a lot of caring people," said one of the participants in the search.

The river was divided into dozens of sections. Divers, rescuers and search teams are working. Some sections of the riverbed have to be temporarily blocked in order to thoroughly examine the bottom.

"I climbed through everything here, the whole dam was re—lined, I dived there," explained another participant in the search.

The Sunzha is a complex river, with almost zero visibility underwater. Divers examine every meter of the bottom by touch.

"The work is complicated by the fact that after prolonged rains, the water level of the Sunji River has risen significantly, the water speed has increased, and the water has become more turbid, which limits visibility for searching," said Akhmed Yevloev, head of the crisis management center of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Russia in Ingushetia.

Rescuers have to examine some sections of the river several times. Despite all the difficulties, the search does not stop. People continue to gather on the banks of the Sunzha River, some come to help for the first time, some have been here for several days in a row.

"It shows our unity, that we are comrades, friends, brothers. That's all coming together today. The most important thing is a human impulse, our souls ache for each other," said the head of Ingushetia, Mahmud-Ali Kalimatov.

On May 16, the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Russia in Ingushetia reported that rescuers in the republic were looking for a five-year-old boy who, according to preliminary data, drowned in the Sunzha River. It was clarified that 11 people and three pieces of equipment were sent to search for the missing boy. In addition, the agency has deployed drones.