Injured Russian tourist vows to climb Mt. Mayon anew

LEGAZPI CITY , Philippines  â€“ Undeterred by a broken leg, Russian tourist Mark Yuchyugaev vowed to climb Mt. Mayon again, this time with a guide to help him through the treacherous slopes of the volcano.

Yuchyugaev admitted he became fascinated by the perfect symmetry of Mayon when he started taking pictures of the areas around the volcano.

“I was so fascinated the first time I saw Mayon volcano that Sunday. I was not contented to just bring its pictures back home to the Republic of Yakutia in Siberia, Russia. I quickly decided to climb it, even by myself,” Yuchyugaev told The STAR.

The 28-year-old Russian was rescued yesterday and brought to the Bicol Regional Training and Teaching Hospital for treatment of his broken ankle.

Residents recalled seeing Yuchyugaev taking pictures of the Cagsawa ruins in Barangay Busay, Daraga, Albay, where Mayon’s foot-to-crater view attracts visitors.

They learned later that it was the Russian who was injured last Sunday while climbing.

Yuchyugaev said he fell just a few hundred meters away from the summit in the attempt to take pictures of Mayon near the crater rim.

“I fell that’s why my ankle was dislocated. The rocks and boulders are still loose at the upper slopes,” he said.

Despite his injuries, Yuchyugaev said he would not hesitate to undertake another climb of Mayon.

“Yes, I will do it again, maybe in the future,” he said, but was quick to add that he would hire an expert guide on his next attempt.

Yuchyugaev said his being a nature lover prompted him to climb Mayon even without a guide.

“I just asked the local folks there the shortest path in reaching the crater. And they pointed me to the direction where I climbed,” he said.

Yuchyugaev said he did not mind the directions while trekking up the volcano as he was busy taking pictures.

“The different views are really very scenic. I love all my shots,” he added.

Yuchyugaev also thanked his rescuers, who exerted all efforts to extricate him from the area. He said they did not leave him since Wednesday until he was brought to hospital.

“I will tell my wife and my three-year-old daughter, and my entire people of the goodness of the Filipinos,” Yuchyugaev said.

He said he blamed only himself for his ordeal.

“I will climb Mayon again. When I do it, I will have an expert guide and I promise not to break my feet again,” Yuchyugaev quipped as he lay on a stretcher.

Office of the Civil Defense (OCD) regional director Raffy Alejandro said Yuchyugaev was strapped to a spine board due to a dislocated right ankle.

“He was conscious but cannot move his upper body,” Alejandro said.

The injured Russian was airlifted by an Air Force helicopter and to a waiting ambulance to the hospital.

“We made it after a second try to evacuate him this afternoon,” Alejandro said.

Alejandro and other officials earlier had a meeting to discuss how to extricate the Russian from the site due to difficult weather.

The Air Force had to identify a safe landing area to allow an ambulance to fetch the injured Russian from the helicopter.

Lt. Col. Pedro Francisco III, Air Force’s Tactical Operations Group-5 commander, said the two helicopters were not able to touch down on the designated landing area at the slope of the volcano because of strong winds and a sudden downpour.

–  With Celso Amo