The other day Sergei told reporters how it all happened.
Photo: Larisa KUDRYAVTSEVA/EG
A week has passed since the terrible Crocus tragedy. Recall that on the afternoon of March 22, before the start of the Picnic group’s concert, terrorists broke into the concert hall building and began shooting at people with machine guns. People ran into the street, panicked and naked. But not everyone managed to escape: today the death toll is 143 people. Among those who attended the Picnic concert were Sergei Svetlakov and Sergei Burunov. But if the first one arrived on time and was in the hall at the time of the attack, then Burunov was deliberately not in a hurry, since he knew that concerts never start on time. The other day Sergei told reporters how it all happened.
According to Burunov, it was Svetlakov who introduced him to the musicians of the Picnic group. And the next concert, also with a symphony orchestra, was to be a large-scale event for which the team had been preparing for a long time.
“I got ready and went. And since they say I was late… I knew that our concerts never start at, well, 8:15… 8:20. That is why I am with this calculation, because there are many people. And I just wanted to quickly slip away and sit in my place. And just in time for the start. And when I arrived and saw some people running across the Moscow Ring Road, breaking through the barrier at the entrance to the Crocus, cars with flashing lights and taxis were passing by. At that moment, my director Anastasia called me and said: “Call Sergei, because on the news they say that something is happening there.” I’m going to call Sergei. Seryozha says that he hears gunshots and that they are being evacuated. And I have to stay where I am or, better yet, turn around,” Sergei Burunov shared with journalists at the New Radio AWARDS presentation ceremony.
Then the actor contacted the director again and it turned out that a young assistant was waiting for him in the hallway.
“I called her. She: “Now the man next to me fell down. They’re shooting here. I don’t know what to do. Help, take me.” I tell him: “Run to the Moscow Ring Road.” She had already turned around and was outside the Moscow Ring Road. I saw smoke coming out and people running. The air smells of gunpowder. Flames have already appeared on the roof of the Crocus. All this caused a terrible traffic jam. In general, I managed to pick up our assistant. He was wearing a white cap and a white face. Seryozha called me later, they left all the clothes. And we came out safe and sound,” remembers Burunov.
Previously, in an interview with Nadezhda Strelets, Sergei Svetlakov spoke about his telephone conversation with Sergei Burunov.
“He called when shots were already being fired. He says, “I’m driving, I’ll be there in a minute. I say: “Damn, it’s great that you called, that’s all, stay where you are and don’t come in,” Svetlakov shared.
And Svetlakov told Ksenia Sobchak that the shooting took place just a few steps from him. But he found a manager who helped him and other visitors escape.
