On the evening of Friday, March 22, a terrorist attack occurred at the Crocus City Hall shopping center in Krasnogorsk, Moscow Region. Armed men burst into the building before a concert by the Piknik group and opened fire on the audience. Explosions rang out in the building, and a major fire broke out, which, according to the Ministry of Emergency Situations, covered more than 12,900 square meters. It was only almost a day later, by seven o'clock in the evening of March 23, that the open burning was eliminated and the clearing of the rubble began. According to the Investigative Committee of Russia as of 17:00, 133 people are already known to have died from gunshot wounds and carbon monoxide poisoning, and search operations are continuing in the shopping center building.
Aviation equipment helped save dozens of lives during the tragedy. It dropped water on the burning building and transported the seriously wounded to hospitals. After that, the helicopters delivered the most seriously wounded to hospitals in the capital.
Helicopters from the Moscow Aviation Center worked all night in Krasnogorsk. They have been serving the city around the clock for many years. We tell you more about what kind of helicopters fly over Moscow.
Moscow Aviation Center
The Moscow Aviation Emergency Response Service, or MAC, has been operating for almost twenty-one years, since May 2003. It currently includes five fire helicopters, five ambulance helicopters, and a reconnaissance helicopter to monitor the situation during major incidents. If necessary, the aviation brigade can arrive at the scene of an emergency in just 10-15 minutes. Specialists are trained in their own training center. Recently, the aviation center has also acquired its own personal repair crew.
The Moscow Aviation Center has more than twenty of its own sites around the city and also helps with the organization of helicopter pads in medical institutions. Such sites already exist in the Kommunarka multidisciplinary clinical center and in the N.V. Sklifosovsky Research Institute for Emergency Medicine. It was to such sites that the wounded were delivered yesterday evening and tonight.
Several rotorcraft from this structure worked in Krasnogorsk.
ВК117С-2
This model was once developed by Kawasaki in conjunction with MBB (Messerschmitt-Bolkow-Blohm) from the Federal Republic of Germany (now AHD (Airbus Helicopters Deutschland GmbH)). It can be retrofitted as needed for various types of activities: from the work of journalists to the work of emergency services. The ВК117С-2s at MAC are equipped to provide medical assistance to victims and sanitary transportation of people. These helicopters, capable of flying in any weather, are called "flying intensive care units."
They have all the modern medical equipment to ensure the patient's vital functions. Inside, they are equipped with a medical wall, which includes a ventilator, a defibrillator, two syringe pumps for fractional administration of a medicinal product, a monitor of vital functions, and other important instruments. If necessary, doctors can perform resuscitation measures right in the air.
Helicopters of this model are capable of transporting three patients with moderate injuries or two victims in serious condition, including four stretchers in extreme cases. There is a supply of medicines and dressings for 25 people on board. Such a board can fly up to 700 kilometers, its maximum speed is 269 kilometers per hour.
Ка-32А11ВС
Another MAC helicopter that worked during the tragedy is the Ka-32A11BC. It can carry up to 13 people on board. Its operation is provided by a crew of 3 people. The board has a medical module, transport and sanitary, fire-fighting and rescue equipment, as well as an emergency landing system.
This medium multi-purpose helicopter from "Russian Helicopters" performs special search and rescue and high-altitude installation work, complex fire-fighting operations, transportation of cargo inside the fuselage and on an external sling, skidding of forests, evacuation of patients and victims, as well as patrolling and support of special services operations.
It is capable of extinguishing fire in high-rise buildings with buildings around, dropping five tons of water at a time from a water discharge device onto a fire, which it collects in a few seconds even in a shallow pond or river. The board can stay in the air for up to three hours.
Ми-26Т
MAC also provided its Mi-26T fire-fighting helicopter to extinguish the fire. This is the largest helicopter in the world with a take-off weight of 56 tons. With a crew of 6 people, it can carry out fire-fighting patrols and forestry aviation work and eliminates fires thanks to a water discharge device on an external sling with a capacity of up to 15 tons.
If necessary, the board can perform construction and installation and loading and unloading operations using the same external sling. And the cabin can accommodate oversized cargo weighing up to 20 tons. If necessary, it can accommodate up to 60 wounded plus three escorts in a sanitary layout.
It can fly up to 800 kilometers and be in the air for 6 and a half hours. The maximum speed of the board is up to 270 kilometers per hour.
The Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations, for its part, also involved three helicopters in order to extinguish the fire.