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Russian government honoured nine South Africans
13 February 2003
The Russian government honoured nine South Africans on 13 February 2003 in Capetown for their part in the rescue of scientists and crewmen from a ship which was trapped in the Antarctic pack ice in 2002.
The five helicopter pilots, three flight engineers and captain of the South African polar research vessel, the SA Agulhas, were honoured at a function at the Ysterplaat Air Force Base, South Africa.
The nine were presented with medals by the Russian ambassador to South Africa, Andrei Kushakov, who said the medal, for the rescue of life, was first awarded in the 19th century. He said only those who had demonstrated selfless heroism during the rescue of people in peace time were eligible for "this high decoration".
Kushakov said Russian President Vladimir Putin, in his message to President Thabo Mbeki last year, had stressed that "this noble act vividly testifies to the spirit of friendship and co-operation which is characteristic of the relations between our two countries. What the South Africans had done could not be called just a formal duty. It was a magnanimous gesture of extending a helping hand to people who desperately needed and sought it."
He thanked the South African authorities, in particular the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism, which co-ordinated the rescue operation.
Text based on press reports, 2003.