UrBC, Yekaterinburg, February 12, 2019. Governor of Chelyabinsk Region Boris Dubrovsky and Chelyabinsk Region’s Human Rights Commissioner Margarita Pavlova presented special medals to twenty locals to acknowledge their bravery, valor, and selfless efforts to help others. Among the awardees were members of rescue teams who helped deal with the explosion at an apartment building in Magnitogorsk, MMK’s press service reports.

The solemn awarding ceremony took place at the Governor’s residence. The entire event was mostly dedicated to the aftermath of the explosion at 164 Karl Marx St. It was to the rescue team members that the Governor addressed his first words.

‘The tragedy in Magnitogorsk will always remain in our memories as the day filled with pain, sorrow, and loss. However, as is always the case, this can also be a day of feeling proud for our countrymen: for the rescuers who risked their lives to do their professional duty; and for the volunteers who joined them,’ Governor Dubrovsky said.

This year, the awards were given out to people who arrived at the scene of the Magnitogorsk disaster within hours of the explosion: Alan Abdullayev, Alexei Ivanov, Rakhim Gayypov, Viktor Krylov, Ilyas Ilyasov, and Assia Kachesova. Among the volunteers were sixty+ members of the nationwide movement Volontery Pobedy, who helped at School 14 and on the site of the explosion.

Businesspeople and owners of large, medium, and small enterprises were among the first to support the victims of the tragedy: they provided rescue staff, supplies, food, and financial aid for those affected. Among them are OOO Faeton’s Maxim Pershin, representative of Magnitogorsk’s dairy plant Igor Stolyarov, and director of Café Grillage Anna Narkhova.