Yerevan Lake ( hy, Երևանյան լիճ (''Yerevanyan lich'')) is an artificial reservoir located in the capital of
Armenia
Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ' ...
in
Yerevan
Yerevan ( , , hy, Երևան , sometimes spelled Erevan) is the capital and largest city of Armenia and one of the world's oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Yerevan is the administrative, cultural, and i ...
. It was formed between 1963 and 1966, to be opened in 1967.
1976 bus accident
On September 16, 1976
training with his brother Kamo, also a finswimmer, by
running
Running is a method of terrestrial locomotion allowing humans and other animals to move rapidly on foot. Running is a type of gait characterized by an aerial phase in which all feet are above the ground (though there are exceptions). This is ...
alongside the reservoir, Karapetyan had just completed his usual distance of when he heard the sound of a crash and saw a sinking
Yerevan trolleybus which had gone out of control and fallen from the
dam
A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use ...
wall.
The trolleybus lay at the bottom of the reservoir some 25 meters (80 ft) off the shore at a depth of 10 meters (33 ft). Karapetyan swam to it and, under conditions of almost zero visibility due to the silt rising from the bottom, broke the back window with his legs. The trolleybus was crowded, it carried 92 passengers and Karapetyan knew he had little time, spending some 30 to 35 seconds for each person he saved. He saved 20 lives.
The trolley-bus and Shavarsh Karapetyan
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References
Lakes of Armenia
Geography of Yerevan
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