Seven children were among the 49 individuals who lost their lives in water-related incidents across Russia on July 6, amidst a heatwave gripping the country, as per the Ministry for Emergency Situations on July 7.
“A total of 65 incidents were reported on water bodies in the country in the past 24 hours, resulting in 49 fatalities,” the Ministry stated on the Telegram messaging app.
This marked a significant increase in drowning incidents compared to the same day last year, as reported by Russia’s RIA state news agency.
Amidst record-breaking heat, Russians have been enduring some of the hottest weather in over a century, with Moscow surpassing a record set in 1917 and cities across the vast country experiencing temperatures exceeding 35° Celsius (95 Fahrenheit).
Russia’s Service for Hydrometeorology predicted on July 5 that extremely high temperatures above 40° Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) would affect most of the southern European parts of Russia over the weekend.
Tragedy struck in the Nizhny Novgorod region as a 10-year-old girl drowned in the Volga River, while her six-year-old sister remains missing, with divers continuing the search operation, as confirmed by the Emergency Ministry.
In the Bashkiria region, located between the Volga River and the Ural Mountains, three individuals, including a 16-year-old girl, lost their lives to drowning, according to the Ministry.
