Shavarsh Karapetyan reflects on 50-year anniversary of Yerevan trolleybus rescue

Fifty years after one of the most remarkable rescue feats in sports history, Armenian finswimmer Shavarsh Karapetyan is reflecting on the tragedy in Yerevan. At age 23, Karapetyan was finishing a 20-kilometer run with his brother when a trolleybus carrying approximately 90 people plunged into a lake.

Acting on instinct, Karapetyan dove into the water, which he described as being “black as ink” with zero visibility due to stirred-up silt. He repeatedly dove nearly ten meters deep, breaking the trolleybus window with his feet to pull people to safety. He successfully rescued 20 individuals.

The rescue came at a massive personal cost. Karapetyan suffered bilateral pneumonia and blood poisoning from the contaminated water, spending 45 days in intensive care. While he eventually returned to training and set a world record, the physical toll impacted his career. He also expressed lasting psychological trauma, specifically recalling a moment when he mistakenly pulled a seat from the wreckage instead of a person, a mistake he says he still regrets.