“The head of the emergencies ministry, Yevgeny Zinichev, tragically died while attempting to save a person’s life during inter-agency Arctic protection training exercises,” the Ministry said in a statement.

There were no more immediate details of the cause of his death.

Yevgeny Nikolayevich Zinichev served as the Minister of Emergency Situations and was also a member of the Security Council of Russia.

In 2016, he served as the acting Governor of Kaliningrad Oblast before being replaced by Anton Alikhanov.

He was ranked General of the Army as of 2020.