Mountain ride in giant inflatable 'zorb' turns deadly in Russia
Authorities will investigate shocking accident involving two men in a giant inflatable ball
Russia has launched an investigation into the death of a 27-year-old man in an inflatable "zorb" ball that tumbled down a mountainside in a horrific accident that was caught on video.
Denis Burakov, 27, died of his injuries after he and a friend, Vladimir Shcherbov, 33, paid to roll in the zorb down an unfenced snow slope at a ski resort in the Karachayevo-Cherkessia region of the Northern Caucasus.
Zorbing is an extreme adventure sport invented in the 1990s in which participants roll down slopes strapped inside large transparent plastic balls.
The men's terrifying ride prompted the head of the national emergency rescue services to demand that Russia address its lax enforcement of safety rules for winter sports, citing a series of recent accidents.
"We have launched a criminal case into causing death through providing unsafe services," said Sergei Shuvayev, spokesman for the regional investigative committee. The charge carries a maximum sentence of six years.
The zorb veered off a snowy track and rolled into a gorge, continuing for about a kilometre before stopping on a frozen lake, investigators said. The accident occurred on January 3.
"As a result of the fall, Burakov died of his injuries, while Shcherbov is in hospital with serious injuries," investigators said. Shcherbov "is in a serious state but his life is not in danger", Shuvayev said yesterday.