“Zil-131” truck sunk in Khuvsgul lake pulled out

A Zil-131 truck that sank on January 11 in the Toilogtiin Uzuur area of Khatgal village, VI bag, Alag-Erdene soum, Khuvsgul province, was pulled out with the help of 23 people, including family members, led by Emergency Department Head S.Ganbold, and a small excavator.

The vehicle had sunk at a depth of 23 meters and was recovered from an ice embankment measuring 10 meters long and 3.5 meters wide, about 90 meters from the shore.

At the time of the accident, the area had black-and-white cracks, the ice had broken into pieces, and its thickness was 30–40 cm. There were also many holes, with some ice frozen into 1–1.5 meter-high ridges. Because a tow truck could not reach the site from either side, and the ZIL-131 was overturned and loaded with 10 cubic meters of dry firewood, with part of the load frozen into the ice, the vehicle could have sunk further if the black boundary shifted. As a result, the towing operation was temporarily postponed.

So far this year, 10 reports of vehicles breaking through the ice have been recorded in Khuvsgul province, and six people have died in related accidents.

Authorities said traffic violations on the ice of Khuvsgul Lake continue, and the National Emergency Management Agency is warning citizens, herders, and transport operators not to travel on the lake ice as warm weather persists.