Catholicos-Patriarch Ilia II of All Georgia, the spiritual leader who led the Georgian Orthodox Church since 1977, has passed away. News of his death at the age of 93 was announced on March 17 from the intensive care unit of the Caucasus Medical Center.
The Chairman of the Investigative Committee, Alexander Bastrykin, ordered that participants in the rescue of people from a bus that fell into the Moika River in St. Petersburg be nominated for awards.
“After a bus with passengers fell into the river on May 10 in St. Petersburg, nearby citizens selflessly and without hesitation rushed to save people trapped inside the vehicle,” the Investigative Committee reported.
Three natives of Dagestan were among the first to come to the aid of the victims: Idris Gadzhiev, Shakhban Dzhabrailov and Muhammad Gasanov. They were on their way to Friday prayers and saw how a passenger bus collided with a car and fell into the Moika River. At first, the young people began shouting to the driver to open the hatch. Then they jumped into the water and began rescuing people until special services arrived.
The head of Dagestan, Sergei Melikov, also ordered three natives of the republic to be nominated for state awards.