Today marks the 40th anniversary of diver Shavarsh Karapetyan’s feat. On September 16th 1976 he rescued 20 passengers of the trolley-bus that had fallen into Yerevan Lake. Together with his brother Kamo Karapetyan Shavarsh was having his regular training near the Lake. On seeing the bus fall the two brothers immediately rushed to help. Shavarsh Karapetyan dived into the cold waters and by breaking the bus window saved 20 passengers.
The trolley bus had gone pretty deep – about 10 meters, which means there was high level of water pressure. Yet that heroic act cost Shavarsh the dearest: he was diagnosed with pneumonia and after months of treatment he was unable to return to sports. Thus he finished his sporting career. Shavarsh Karapetyan is 63 old. He is 11 times world record holder in diving, 17 times world champion, 13 times European champion and 7 times USSR champion.