According to his own ministry, Zinichev died when he saved the life of another person, reports the news agency RIA.
The message from the ministry should not have given further details.
The Minister of Emergency Preparedness participated in an exercise in the Arctic regions of Russia. The exercise is said to have taken place near the town of Norilsk, located in Eastern Siberia, about 288 km north of Moscow.
Margarita Simonjan, editor-in-chief of the Russian news channel Russia Today, says that Zinichev died while rescuing a cameraman who slipped and fell into the water, writes Moscow Times.
“There were many witnesses, but no one even had time to find out what happened when Zinichev jumped into the water after the fallen man and landed on a protruding rock,” Simonjan tweeted according to the newspaper.
This is currently not officially confirmed.
Became 55 years old
General Yevgeny Zinichev turned 55 years old.
Zinichev was a KGB officer from 1987 to 1991, and continued in the FSB intelligence service after the dissolution of the Soviet Union. During the Soviet Union he was also a member of the Communist Party.
He was appointed general last year and has been minister since May 2018. Zinichev was also a member of the Russian Security Council, and is said to have previously been part of President Vladimir Putin’s security details.
The Kremlin says they have been informed of the incident.
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