These pictures are reminiscent of a catastrophe film, but for the people of Irkutsk in Russia it is a bitter reality. An entire apartment block is frozen there. The multi-storey house has been trapped under a thick layer of ice since a pipe burst in December. Even the floors and hallways inside are covered in pure ice.
The house was originally a home of a military school. The Russian authorities used it as social housing from 2009. However, social leasing has since been abandoned and most residents have moved out. Not all, however. Four families still live in the frozen building and have been waiting to be relocated since the pipe was broken.
The inconceivable: Since the pipe was broken, the apartments are no longer heated and without cold or hot water, because the municipal utility company refused to carry out repairs due to uncertainties about responsibilities. Meanwhile, the remaining residents draw attention to themselves with messages to the outside world. So “SOS” stands tall on one of the frozen window panes. And while the authorities should try to end the bureaucratic mess, these four families are fighting to survive in the ice hell.
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