Fatal neglect and blank shots
On August 19, 1990, a rice wagon with 15 prisoners and three escorts arrived at the airport in the city of Neryungri (Yakutia), which transported criminals to Yakutsk. At the time of the departure of a civilian plane, that is, the prisoners were transported along with ordinary passengers in those years, there was a hitch: the paddy wagon was too late.
The criminals were hastily escorted to the ship, and fatal negligence was allowed: the flight was already delayed, so they gave up the necessary searches and searches. Already on the plane, another rule was violated: the prisoners were tied with only three pairs of handcuffs, each of them was relied on individually, according to the instructions.
At 12.25 am local time, the plane with 85 passengers and 7 crew took off from Neryungri and five minutes later an alarm was raised in the pilot’s office. A minute later, the stewardess handed the crew members a note and followed it up: the plane has been hijacked, if the pilots refuse to obey the criminals, the liner will blow up.
Meanwhile, in the cabin of the plane, Andrei Isakov, one of the leaders of the bandits, a racketeer and a former boxer, took out a cut-off shotgun and aimed it at a woman with a child. Three guards held Isakov at gunpoint and demanded that they lay down their weapons and threatened to shoot the passengers. At the same time, the leader of the hijackers – three times convicted Vladimir Evdokimov – took out a bag from which the wires came out and again demanded that all requirements be met.
As it turned out later, the “bomb”, a piece of laundry soap and two wires, was carried by Evdokimov in a bag full of clothes, he also dragged a loaded shotgun, which he bought in exchange for money. he took it from one of the employees of the pretrial detention center, and then hid it in the prosthesis of his legs. He had his own leg amputated when he shot and killed him a few years ago, not for murder, but for outdoing self-defense.
While the guards were trying to persuade the bandits to surrender, flight engineer Alexei Kamoshin appeared in the cabin, who went “for reconnaissance” with a service pistol. Evaluating the situation, he ordered the convoy to lay down their weapons. Two sergeants – Valery Varlyga and Igor Smurygin – immediately obeyed, and the third – Sergei Borshch – refused. At that moment, Borsch was very worried, because the machine gun in his hands “danced”. Out of fright, the guard accidentally pulled the trigger and fired into the air. However, the cabin was not depressurized: the prisoners noticed that the guards’ weapons were loaded with empty cartridges, which gave them an additional advantage.
The escorts were hooked up, and Isakov placed the barrel of the saw-gun against the flight engineer’s temple and went with him to the cockpit. Hearing the call, the aircraft commander, Anatoly Listopadov, looked through the peephole and saw Kamoshin. The criminal, who held him at gunpoint, promised to shoot the flight engineer and passengers if they didn’t let them in.
Listopadov let the bandit in. From then on, the ship was placed under the full control of the prisoners.
There are no “police” and “KGB men” or we will shoot everyone”
Gang leader Evdokimov demanded that the plane be returned to Neryungri. The liner was deployed immediately, but due to the full fuel tanks, the ship had to circle in the air for over an hour. This gave the police time to prepare.
After announcing the alarm, a capture group was sent to the airport. Soldiers from the famous Alpha group of the KGB of the USSR arrived on a special flight from Yakutsk, trained to attack hijacked planes. They lined up at the track.
Without incidents, the personnel of the Neryungri city department of the KGB of the USSR arrived on the scene:
Employees sent to the airport were put in an old UAZ, which stopped near the main highway. Security forces had to stop private traders with machine guns, disembark passengers, and then stop groups that could “fit” on the scene.
At 14.06 the plane landed in Neryungri, the criminals asked “one of the local officials” to negotiate. There was also an important reservation: “No police” and “KGB guys, or we’ll shoot everybody.
Thus, the commander of the squadron, Vladimir Gonchuk, entered the runway.
He warned criminals that all technical hatches were blocked – except for them it was impossible to enter the hall. They also made demands: to be given weapons, bulletproof vests, cartridges, walkie-talkies and parachutes. The criminals also insisted that two more inmates from the local pre-trial detention center – Moloshnikov and Petrov – be taken aboard Evdokimov’s friends.
Nikolai Pak, the former head of the criminal investigation department of Neryungri, arrived on a private plane from Yakutsk to conduct the negotiations. He knew Isakov well, and during the negotiations he almost convinced him to surrender – until another chief of police intervened in the conversation, he began to talk to the bandits with ultimatums and ordered them to surrender, promising “otherwise it will be worse.” “Isakov got angry.
“If they don’t do it in three minutes, I’ll shoot two. Enough time to drag! Or you want to be sure? I don’t hear an answer! He shouted.
Then Isakov caught the subordinate sergeant Borsch and dragged him out of the car, saying loudly: “You will answer with your own life for the stubbornness of the police officers and the disrespect for children.” The shutter clicked immediately, but the ex-boxer was stopped and promised the criminals to fulfill their demands immediately.
In return, the women and children were released from the plane, and six more prisoners left the Tu-154 of their own accord. In total, there were 11 invaders on board, including Moloshnikov and Petrov.
The criminals wanted to prepare for takeoff. However, the police decided to make another attempt to persuade the bandits: Andrey Isakov’s parents were brought to the airport and asked him not to “put sin in his soul” and not kill innocent people. However, this did not cause Isakov to abandon his plan.
going to pakistan
At 18.15 the plane departed for Khabarovsk by order of Evdokimov. After some time, the invaders changed their minds – they told them to fly to Krasnoyarsk, and then to Tashkent. Having landed at the final destination, the bandits asked the country’s leadership to provide them with a flight abroad. In the meantime, combat points were set up around the aircraft, but it was decided to abandon the attack: there would be unreasonable casualties.
Meanwhile, the criminals decided where to fly – they chose between Israel, Pakistan and Afghanistan, but refused to accept the plane. The choice fell on India. As the authorities tried to negotiate an air corridor with Pakistan, the criminals shifted: Isakov took the lead. On his orders, the plane took off again at 9.25 and crossed the Pakistani border two hours later.
The liner was met by Pakistani fighters who could hit him at any time. The situation was saved by the flight radio operator: The aircraft that crossed the border issued a message asking them not to open fire, as it was a civilian and was hijacked by terrorists.
The crew went to Karachi, Pakistan. The Pakistani authorities welcomed the bandits with open arms: they smiled at them, shook hands and kissed them. We also took group photos. The criminals then rejoiced and decided that they would seek refuge in Pakistan. But they were wrong, as it turned out later.
When those who arrived were asked to lay down their weapons, they were put in cars and taken to the prison, driven to cells at gunpoint.
The Tu-154 with all the passengers returned to the USSR, and the criminals who initially asked not to be sent home in any case were announced: they are now executed under the law for hijacking a plane and air terror. Pakistan’s.
Wikimedia Commons
Mass suicide and returning home
Despite the bandits’ sentence being commuted, serving first life imprisonment, then up to 20 years in prison instead of the death penalty, the invaders turned their anger on the USSR to mercy soon after entering the Pakistani prison, pleading with local authorities to return them to their homes.
In the few prisons in the south of the country, where the temperature reached 60 degrees and there was almost no water, the prisoners were more and more remorseful for their decision to cross the border. The food in the Pakistani prison was inedible and the inmates suffered from terrible and unknown diseases. In addition, the shackles on the legs of the prisoners were not removed, instead of the shower, the prisoners were given a bucket of water for 15 people, and they were beaten with a stick for misconduct.
The first could not stand Suslov. He hanged himself after two months in prison. The remaining bandits either organized hunger strikes or wrote appeals that did not attract anyone’s attention.
In 1991, three prisoners, including Isakov, opened their veins, but they survived. In 1992, every invader attempted mass suicide, and again they managed to save their lives.
In September 1998, in honor of the 50th anniversary of Pakistan’s independence, the criminals were pardoned and extradited to Russia. All of them were sentenced for crimes they committed in the past. The two countries born in Ukraine refused to accept as they continued to wait for the end of his term in Pakistan.
Source: Gazeta
