A dramatic video captures courageous doctors in Russia proceeding with surgery amidst a massive 8.8 magnitude earthquake that shook their operating room.
The medical team is shown gripping the patient’s gurney to keep it stable, as seen in the remarkable footage released by the regional health ministry of the Kamchatka Peninsula, located on Russia’s Pacific coast.
The peninsula endured one of the most powerful earthquakes recorded on Wednesday, causing tsunami alerts extending to Hawaii, Chile, and Japan.
“It seemed like the walls might give way at any second. The shaking went on for at least three continuous minutes,” recounted Yaroslav, 25, from Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky.
The quake — the 6th most powerful ever recorded — damaged buildings and injured several people in the region.
“Today’s earthquake was significant, the strongest seen in decades,” Kamchatka Governor Vladimir Solodov remarked in a video shared on the Telegram messaging app.
The quake was the strongest to hit the Kamchatka Peninsula, home to just under 30,000 people, since 1952.
Moreover, evacuation orders were issued for much of Japan’s eastern coastline, which suffered devastation from a 9.0 magnitude quake and tsunami in 2011, as well as for parts of Hawaii.
With Post wires
