Japanese adventurer dies in Russia winter cycling crash
- 11 years ago
Intrepid Japanese adventurer Haruhisa Watanabe - giving his last TV interview to a local TV station in northern Russia.
The 31-year-old, who was cycling across Russia, was killed on Wednesday in a road accident near the Arctic Circle, south of Murmansk.
He died of his injuries at the scene.
The accident happened during the Arctic night when the sun doesn't rise for weeks in temperatures around minus 20 Celsius.
Watanabe started his marathon cycling tip in June, beginning in China and crossing Central Asia before taking a ferry to Russia's Black Sea resort of Sochi and cycling north from there.
In 2004, at the age of 22, the Japanese adventurer said he'd become the second youngest person to climb the highest peaks on all seven continents.
He had also set a record for the quickest descent on a bike from Mount Fuji in Japan.
The 31-year-old, who was cycling across Russia, was killed on Wednesday in a road accident near the Arctic Circle, south of Murmansk.
He died of his injuries at the scene.
The accident happened during the Arctic night when the sun doesn't rise for weeks in temperatures around minus 20 Celsius.
Watanabe started his marathon cycling tip in June, beginning in China and crossing Central Asia before taking a ferry to Russia's Black Sea resort of Sochi and cycling north from there.
In 2004, at the age of 22, the Japanese adventurer said he'd become the second youngest person to climb the highest peaks on all seven continents.
He had also set a record for the quickest descent on a bike from Mount Fuji in Japan.