Kazakhstan Rescuers Free 145 People Trapped by Snowstorms in 10-Day Operation

Kazakhstan's emergency services rescued 145 people, including 17 children, from severe winter storms over a critical ten-day period in February.

The large-scale operation, conducted from February 11 to 20 by the Ministry of Emergency Situations and police, freed 48 stranded vehicles as blizzards, ice, and zero visibility paralyzed roads across the country.

Rescuers worked around the clock, patrolling treacherous stretches with off-road vehicles. Authorities issued advance warnings about deteriorating weather and road closures via storm alerts, SMS messages, and official online resources.

One major incident involved evacuating passengers from an intercity bus on the Astana-Petropavlovsk highway in the Akmola region. The bus, traveling from Petropavlovsk to Shymkent, broke down with 13 citizens of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Kyrgyzstan on board; all were taken to a warming center in Makinsk.

In the West Kazakhstan region, rescuers saved a family of three—including a child and a pregnant woman—whose car was stuck in snow in the Syrym district. Separately, 28 passengers, seven of them children, were evacuated from a broken-down bus on the Ust-Kamenogorsk-Almaty route in the Abai region.

A particularly urgent mission unfolded in the Atyrau region, where emergency crews drove 550 kilometers through snow-blocked roads in the Kurmangazy district to transport a mother and her premature newborn from a remote village to a district hospital.

In the Mangystau region, a search-and-rescue team using a drone and satellite communications located four men whose SUV became stuck in the steppe while they were searching for livestock. In the Pavlodar region, three villagers lost overnight in the steppe were also rescued.

The emergency department urges citizens to exercise caution: heed storm warnings, refrain from long trips in bad weather, and for rural residents, avoid lengthy journeys on foot.