A group of border trespassers from Iraq got lost in the forest in the Verkhnedvinsk district and called rescuers themselves
On June 6, 14 citizens of Iraq – ten adults and four children, the youngest not yet three years old – got lost in a forest near the settlement of Gavriliny. Of the entire group, only one woman spoke a little Russian. She explained that after selling all their property in their homeland, they were trying to get to the EU countries. First, they reached Russia, found guides who took them to Belarus, to the border zone, and then left, pointing them in the direction of the Latvian border. Not knowing the area well, the group headed into the forest. It took them almost a day to realize they were hopelessly lost. It can be confidently said that they were saved by a compatriot who called the rescue service. She managed to report their location, providing only the number of a border post she saw in the forest.
The signal was picked up by the Latvian Ministry of Emergency Situations, which informed their colleagues in Minsk, who then contacted the Verkhnedvinsk Emergency Rescue Department. Subsequently, information about the people lost in the border zone was conveyed to the Polotsk border guards. However, their coordinates could only be identified with the help of foresters, who determined the location of the border post by its number, which was provided in the MES message.
Upon arriving at the location of the Iraqi citizens, border guards and foresters found women, children, and men who were soaked, lightly dressed, hungry, and bitten by mosquitoes and midges. The foreigners, tired and exhausted by their forest adventure, received the necessary assistance. Their health is no longer in danger.
An investigation is currently underway with the Iraqis. They have been recognized as border violators and face deportation.