Four-year-old Tuvinka walked for six hours through the taiga in -34 to call for help
On February 6, four-year-old Saglana Salchak walked alone 8 kilometers through the forest to inform neighbors about the death of her grandmother and call for help. I had to go early in the morning, at a temperature of -34 degrees. The girl says that she was not afraid: "It was very cold, I really wanted to eat. But I wasn't afraid. I just walked, walked, walked. And finally I got it."
(10 photos in total)
The mother and stepfather of little Saglana Salchak breed horses, so they constantly have to wander to drive the herd from place to place. This winter, they once again changed the parking lot, and left Saglana with her grandmother and blind grandfather. On the night of February 6, a disaster happened: the girl's 60-year-old grandmother died of a heart attack, Saglana found her "cold".
A four-year-old girl and a blind old man were left alone in the house. Saglana herself suggested to Grandfather Borbak to send her for help. The nearest parking lot was eight kilometers away, but there was nowhere to go.
Saglana took a box of matches and followed the tracks of a horse-drawn sleigh to the neighbors' house: the road was familiar to her.
The girl walked for six hours through the forest, along the bed of a frozen river. Then the owner of the shepherd's parking lot noticed her. Saglana told her about her grandmother's death, and she called relatives, doctors, police officers and rescuers from the district center.
A little Tuvinka tells the deputies of the Supreme Hural (Parliament) of Tuva how she got help.
Saglana caught a little cold, and she was admitted to the district hospital. After discharge, the brave girl was placed in a social center until May: her mother cannot leave her camp in the taiga yet. And Saglana's grandfather was taken by his own brother.
In the photo, the girl is being held by her mother, 31-year-old Eleanor. A criminal case was opened against her under Article 125 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation ("Leaving in danger"). Investigators accuse the suspect that she knew that elderly people could not provide a child with safety.
In the social center, the girl is praised: "Saglana is an open, intelligent, gentle girl. We are proud that we have a little heroine of taiga growing up. She treats us like her own daughter, we kiss and hug every day. After all, not every four-year-old child manages to accomplish the feat that she did."
It's only when Saglana is reminded of her grandmother, she begins to feel sad. The baby is very upset by her death. To help her escape from grief, the social center organized a campaign "Let's help Saglana", and strangers have already sent her a lot of gifts. And the head of Tuva, Sholban Kara-ool, organized a trip to the sanatorium for the girl and her mother in May.
On March 1, shortly after the epic hike, the girl turned five years old.
Social center. Saglana is the second from the right, sitting on the lap of a local official Sayana Chipsin. The first from the left is Eleonora Salchak.
Semyon Rubtsov, head of the Tuvan Search and rescue unit, praised Saglana for her survival skills.
The difficulty was that she had to fight her way through the snowdrifts. There was also a great danger — wild animals. The bears are sleeping now, but the wolves have simply flooded Tuva. They gnaw cattle, shepherds groan from them. In the dark, it was easy to stumble upon a pack. The girl was lucky that she did not meet them. If only, I would climb a tree.
She got to people quickly enough, so she knew the way and moved quickly with good speed. It was even easier for her than for an adult to walk. Now it is warm during the day, the snow melts, at night it freezes and the crust forms. At the age of four, the weight is small, and she did not fall down. She was probably dressed warmly. Shepherds always dress well — clothes made of sheep skins, maymaks are put on their feet — these are warm boots, felt boots, sheepskin inside, felt sole. And the frost by our standards was small, only -34 degrees. This is generally considered a warm winter in our country."
Semyon Rubtsov in an interview with Komsomolskaya Pravda