‘He managed to get himself out of the machine somehow’: details about the SOTK employee injured by Azerbaijanis

Sotk mine employee, 35-year-old archer Armen Matévosyan, who was injured by enemy gunfire on May 7, has been discharged from the hospital today, and his condition is stable. This was stated by the injured man's uncle, Zinavor Matévosyan, in an interview with News.am.

“The bullet damaged his shoulder but did not harm any internal organs. However, if the bullet had gone a millimeter to the right, it would have hit his heart; if it had moved a millimeter to the left, it would have damaged an artery. The doctors were astonished that the bullet did not damage his internal organs. It was quite a complicated surgery, but by God's grace, he survived; we can say a miracle occurred,” said Zinavor Matévosyan.

The uncle added that it is still unknown when his nephew will recover, as the wound is very deep.

In the conversation, the injured man's uncle detailed how the incident occurred. According to him, his nephew was injured around 15:30, but there had been gunfire in the direction of the mine even before that.

“They had taken a break, then my brother's son went to clean the windshield of his equipment to resume work. The work had started, and he was standing there, fully focused on the drilling rig, when he was shot,” explained the injured man's uncle.

His uncle mentioned that he did not lose consciousness; he felt a strong blow to his shoulder and realized he had been injured when he saw the blood. “He managed to get himself out of the machine somehow, so as not to bleed out, and took a few steps toward the neighboring equipment. From there, they noticed him, lifted him into the vehicle, and got him out of the area,” Zinavor Matévosyan noted.

Zinavor Matévosyan also works at the Sotk mine. He stated that the Armenian side is completely within the Azerbaijani line of sight and is very close to them. “Especially since our work takes place in a dark pit, while they are at higher elevations, which gives them an advantage,” he said.

It is recalled that on May 7, the enemy opened intense fire in the direction of the Sotk mine, resulting in injury to a mine employee.