r/interesting Oct 04 '24

In 1976, Shavarsh Karapetyan, an Armenian Olympic swimmer, saves 20 people trapped in a bus that sank 80' offshore. It took him several hours to save them all, and he suffered injuries that put him in the hospital for 45 days—it ended his Olympic career. HISTORY

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423

u/Tea_master_666 Oct 04 '24

On September 16, 1976, Karapetyan was jogging alongside Yerevan Lake with his brother Kamo. Karapetyan had just completed his usual finswimming distance of 20 km (12 mi) when he heard the sound of a crash and saw a sinking trolleybus.

The trolleybus had lost control and fallen from a dam wall, laying at the bottom of the reservoir some 25 meters (80 ft) offshore at a depth of 10 meters (33 ft).Despite the challenging conditions of sewage-infested waters and poor visibility due to silt, Karapetyan courageously dived in and used his legs to kick open the back window of the trolleybus. He managed to rescue 46 out of the 92 passengers onboard, saving the lives of 20 individuals.

Yep, this guys is a superhero.

11

u/marsap888 Oct 04 '24

Karapetyan courageously dived in and used his legs to kick open the back window of the trolleybus.


I doubt it is possible to kick window under the water

29

u/D0hB0yz Oct 04 '24

Grabbed the bus with his hands and kicked off of the window more than likely. Feat of pure strength more than impact.

8

u/HakimeHomewreckru Oct 04 '24

And confirmed in the same wiki article when they talk about about people using the window he broke to escape