Gamov's condition worsening

The condition of Border Guards General Vitaly Gamov, who is being treated in the Burn Treatment Center of Sapporo, Japan, has got worse, said Russian Consul General to Sapporo Nail Latypov, who has just returned from the Burn Treatment Center, in a telephone interview.

According to his words, things got worse at around 1:30 p.m. local time, or 7:30 a.m. Moscow time. The general had difficulty in breathing, so doctors were forced to raise the level of oxygen in his resuscitation apparatus "to the upper limit." Nevertheless, Japanese doctors hope they will be able to save Gamov's life. At this moment, "everything depends on his vital powers," they say. According to Latypov, it is too early to talk of surgery -- the first thing to be done is to stabilize Gamov's condition.

On the night of May 21st, someone threw three Molotov cocktails into the window of the flat occupied by General Gamov of Russia's Federal Frontier Service and his wife, Larisa. As a result, the couple suffered bad burns, burns of upper respiratory tracts, and third-degree shock.

Both were rushed to the Burn Treatment Center in Sapporo, a city in the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido. On Wednesday, Mrs. Gamov was moved to the hospital of the Kyorin University in Tokyo.