Teenager froze to death after being stuck in broken down car for a week in -50C

Sergey Ustinov died as he waited to be rescued as his friend Vladislav Istomin was found barely alive in the passenger seat a week after they went missing.

The pair, both 18, had left their home town of Yakutsk, Russia on Saturday, November 28.

They travelled in their Toyota Chaser towards the city of Magadan, which is 1,163 miles away.

They were driving along the Kolyma highway when their GPS led them onto a wrong abandoned road, reports said.

Their car ran into a piece of wood and broke down, the Komsomolskaya Pravda newspaper reports.

Sergey and Vladislav were quickly in trouble in the extreme conditions.

There was no mobile connection, the heating system was damaged and there was no way to ask for help.

Their relatives reported them missing the same day after failing to reach them by phone.

Police started interviewing locals and looking through road surveillance cameras trying to track down the missing duo.

Police spokeswoman Nadezhda Dvoretskaya told local media: ''On December 4 we received information that the car was last seen in the village of Tontor.

They were found in the frozen car

"Police officers and volunteers started the searches from the spot.''

The following night the frost-covered car was discovered 75 miles from the village and police found Sergey frozen to death in side.

Vladislav was sitting in the front passenger seat, barely breathing and on the verge of death.

They were found on an abandoned road
 

Miss Dvoretskaya added: ''The car and its heating system broke down after it ran into a piece of wood.

"The guys set alight a tyre trying to warm themselves. Apparently, they tried to make a big fire and remove other tyres but could not.''

Vladislav was transported back to his hometown and admitted to intensive care in critical condition.

Doctors said: ''His condition is still extremely grave.

Investigators said the teenagers got trapped after GPS led them onto an old road that has not been used since the 1970s.

Local Aigylan added: ''At night temperatures drop to -57C in the region these days.

"Those guys were not dressed and equipped properly to face such extreme weather .''

Mirror