The 10-meter yacht «Sirius» with Norwegians on board ran aground near the village of Buraya in the Dubrovensky district of Belarus.
According to the crew, consisting of two journalists and an interpreter of Belarusian origin, they were heading from Finland to Turkey with the aim to repeat the route «from the Varangians to the Greeks».
Their journey began on August 17 in Helsinki. After reaching St. Petersburg, the Scandinavians took the Neva to Ladoga Lake to reach Veliky Novgorod by the Volkhov River.
Then partly overland - repeating the ancient route - the crew reached Smolensk. Having safely passed the Dnepr they crossed the Belarusian border. But the same evening, having failed to appreciate the state of the river, the Norwegians ran aground a few meters from the shore.
When the travelers realized that they could not stand the natural conditions on their own, they called for the Ministry of Emergency Situations.
The Norwegians had to spend the night waiting for the rescue operation, which was postponed to the morning. However, they refused to leave the vessel, saying that they had everything necessary on board.
By the afternoon of the next day, the diving crew of the PASO EMERCOM released «Sirius» and it continued its journey towards the Black Sea.
