Friends of Rodio Burkovn, left, made a video in his memory, ending with the words: 'We remember, love, grieve. You will forever remain in our hearts. Farewell ...' Photo / Supplied
Friends of Rodio Burkovn, left, made a video in his memory, ending with the words: 'We remember, love, grieve. You will forever remain in our hearts. Farewell ...' Photo / Supplied
WARNING: Disturbing content:
A 16-year-old boy died a hero after distracting an attacking brown bear and saving the life of his younger cousin.
Boris Burakov, 13, escaped, but his relative Rodion Burakov was torn apart and killed by the angry beast in eastern Russia.
The wild animal had buried his dismembered remains beneath fallen leaves and twigs by the time rescuers arrived at the scene alerted by the younger boy who had managed to flee.
A search party found the bear guarding his prey and shot the beast dead.
A macabre video shows how a woman paramedic found the boy's dismembered body buried by the bear.
She appears to check his pulse not realising at that moment that the corpse - hidden by leaves and branches - was dismembered with the lower limbs torn off, and arms partially dismembered.
Covering prey with soil, branches and other forest products is typical of brown bears, as it saves their food from scavengers, such as birds. The process also keeps the meat warm to speed up the fermentation processes that make it easier for them to eat.
The two teenagers were ambushed on a nine-mile walk back to their remote village in Russia's Kamchatka peninsula after going to a sauna.
Boris told rescuers how the bear at first attacked him but Rodion - who could have escaped with his life - distracted the beast by running past it deeper into a forest.
The bear let the younger boy go free and chased Rodion, who was caught and savaged by the wild animal.
Rodion, 16, with a female friend on his shoulders. Photo / Supplied
District chief Vladimir Voitsekhovsky said Boris raised the alarm at his local village fire station.
Firefighters and hunters rushed to the scene but were too late to save Rodion.
"They found a three-year-old predator that had already buried the body of the older teenager," he said.
"The beast was shot on the spot.'
A spokesman for the Russian Investigative Committee, which is probing the incident, said: "The 13-year-old was able to escape and report the predator's attack.
"The older teenager died from the claws of a bear as he protected (his cousin)."
He sustained "life-ending injuries" suffering a "scalped head wound" and 'an open skull fracture" and torn off lower and partly upper limbs, reported The Siberian Times.
