Russia’s emergency situations minister has died during drills, the ministry said on Wednesday.
Yevgeny Zinichev, 55, “tragically died in the line of duty during inter-agency exercises to protect the Arctic zone from emergency situations, while saving a person’s life,” the ministry said in a statement carried by Russian news agencies.
The ministry didn’t offer any details about where or how he died. According to its website, in recent days Zinichev was on a trip to the Siberian region of Krasnoyarsk. On Tuesday, he opened large-scale drills spanning seven regions in the Russian Arctic that were scheduled to last through Wednesday.
In a statement sent to the Associated Press, the ministry said Zinichev died while trying to save prominent film director Alexander Melnik, who came to the site of drills.