The nomination "Our Brothers": A tiny dog did not leave the side of a man stuck in a Swiss glacier and, thus, saved his life.
The story, which was written by The Guardian journalists, took place in the spring on the territory of the Fee glacier above Saas Fee near the border with Italy. The man was walking there with his tailed pet, but suddenly the snow bridge began to crumble and he literally collapsed into an 8-meter crack. The dog miraculously remained on the surface.
It is noteworthy that in March, the dispatchers of the airline AirZermatt, which is engaged in search and rescue operations in the Alps, repeatedly warned tourists about the danger posed by cracks. Then, for two weeks, they had to take helicopters into the air at least seven times to search for the missing. That's what happened this time.
"While the man was a prisoner of the glacier, his faithful furry companion remained on the edge of the crack," the airline said, calling it an "extraordinary" mission. Fortunately, the tourist had an amateur radio with him, with which he was able to call for help. The signal from him was picked up, but it was extremely difficult to determine the exact location of the man at an altitude of about 3,200 meters.
AirZermatt sent a team of three rescuers to the Fee glacier, but the collapse site could not be found, given the width of the glacier and the small size of the crater. "Then came the crucial moment: one of the rescuers noticed a slight movement on the stone.: it was a chihuahua!" the company said.
A trembling dog barked from its perch next to the funnel into which its owner had fallen. This is what allowed rescuers to climb down the rope and pull the man to safety while his pet was watching what was happening. The rescue operation was complicated by the inaccessibility of the site and the small size of the hole. After the evacuation, the victim and his dog were taken to the hospital. And Swiss rescuers now call the tailed crumb named Lap exclusively a "four-legged hero."
Photograph: Air Zermatt/AP