Russian torchbearer’s jacket catches fire in the city of Abakan

Russian Olympic Torch Bearer’s Jacket Catches Fire

Abakan, Russia – With the XXII Olympic Winter Games are still five weeks away, a sudden mishap with the bearing of the Olympic flame could have turned deadly. Two-time Olympic bobsledder Pyotr Makarchuk was carrying the flame through this southern Siberian city of 166,000 this past Wednesday when his jacket caught fire, reports the Chicago Tribune.

Witnesses say that flames suddenly came out from his upper left arm and shoulder. Thankfully, authorities were quick to smother out the fire before any harm came to him. It is believed that drops of fuel were leaking from the torch onto his jacket and the close proximity to the flame caused the wet patch of fuel to suddenly burst into flames.

Russia is in conducting the longest Olympic torch relay in history that will span a distance of 65,000 km (~40,000 miles). However, the torch is supposed to remain lit during the entire relay. This latest incident marks only one of dozens of times the flame has extinguished. In fact, President Vladmir Putin witnessed one such incident first-hand when he passed off the torch in the famous Red Square only to see its flames go out minutes later. Let’s hope the torch relay is not a harbinger of things to come for the Olympic Games.

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Russian Olympic torchbearer’s jacket catches fire
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