Concussed himself, Kherson bus driver still gets passengers to safety

Driver Oleh Korniyenko heard the drone approaching during his third run on the route.

"I heard the drone flying in and started running under the netting, but I was a little too late," the driver said. “Then I heard an explosion. I turned around — people were lying on the floor of the cabin. Crying, screaming. Some people started asking me to stop: 'Driver, open the doors, we'll get out.' I said: 'No, nobody's getting out anywhere. There's no time to wait for an ambulance either.' And I drove all of them to the hospital.”

Thanks to Korniyenko's actions, the wounded were quickly brought to the hospital, where they received emergency care.

"Thank God, thanks to his actions, these people were saved," said Vadym Melnyk, director of the municipal enterprise Khersonkomuntransservis.

According to the driver, he was wounded as well, sustaining a concussion.

"First my blood pressure went up, then I got a headache," Korniyenko said. “Medics helped me, gave me pills, checked my blood pressure. I felt better. Now I'm heading back to the hospital. My head is starting to throb.”

According to Elvina Osmanova, head of the Department of Internal and Information Policy at the Kherson Oblast State Administration, the Russian attack on the bus in Kherson on Aug. 19 killed a 69-year-old man and three women, aged 63, 71, and 89.

"The driver and four female passengers currently remain under medical observation. They sustained injuries of varying severity," Osmanova added.