Woman gives birth in taiga swamp as guns fired to chase away brown bears

Rushing back to hospital, the car got stuck in a swamp. The couple made emergency calls but the medics could not reach the scene on time.

Alexandra Matrosova explained: 'I was with my sister and my husband all the time. I was talking on the mobile to the rescuers' team, they told me what to do and how to breathe. This is how I gave birth, right on the ground.'

Finally the rescuers arrived on foot after a two hour ordeal, their cars stuck in the swamp. 

Policeman Dmitry Andreyev shot in the air to scare away brown bears, dangerous because they are now in the mating season.

Nurse Larisa Ochirtarova cut the umbilical cord, while two other doctors helped to stop bleeding and warmed the baby. 

'It was so cold, in the night the temperature dropped to 5C, we were concerned about the baby girl freezing there,' she said. 

A rescuer said: 'This is a mating time for brown bears. They are really dangerous now. We saw their giant footsteps all around us. 

'We spent two hours shooting and making a noise as loud as possible to be sure bears did not get close.'

Mother and baby girl were finally rushed from the quagmire to Mirny Central Hospital. 

Tatiana Struchkova, chief doctor of Mirny hospital: 'Both mother and daughter are relatively well. The baby girl is healthy, she weighs 3490 grammes and is 52 cm long.'

There was 'no danger' because of the precautions.  

Alexandra thanked her rescuers. 

'I wanted to help my husband fishing, this is why I went. The distance to the lake is short but we didn't expect the road to be of such a poor quality. 

'We got there, but our car stuck and we couldn't leave. 

'My husband will decide our daughter's name. I don't know if he's got any ideas yet. All I can think about is that our daughter is alive and healthy.'