British researcher rescued in Russia thanks to 3,700-mile SOS

A British student was airlifted to safety out of far-eastern Russia after her rescue beacon was received by a Scottish RAF base 3,700 miles away.

Kimberley Warren, 20, activated the beacon on Thursday night after she fell off a horse and broke her leg.

RAF Kinloss in Moray then contacted Russian emergency services.

The second-year zoology student from the University of Nottingham was on a two-month trip to discover the effects of global warming on natural habitats in the Kamchatka Peninsula.

Miss Warren, who is from Sway, Hampshire, had planned to use tracks and traps to look for signs of mammals living in the area.

In her online biography for the expedition's website, she said she was president of her university's rock music society and enjoyed rugby, martial arts and reading.

Flight Sergeant Tim Dickinson, rescue coordinator at RAF Kinloss, said they had received a signal from the beacon and looked up its owner on its database.

'We contacted a family member and then spoke to our Russian counterparts and they initiated a rescue,' he said.

Miss Warren was part of a team of researchers, led by ecology lecturer Dr Markus Eichhorn, which had been camping in an area that is home to the northern hemisphere's largest active volcano.

Wolves, grizzly bears and Arctic foxes also live in the region, which was opened to foreigners in 1990 after being declared a military zone following the Second World War.

In a statement, Miss Warren's mother Liz Warren said Kimberley had had 'a fabulous time on this trip' and it had 'confirmed to her that this is what she wants to do with her life'.

Miss Warren was airlifted to Esso, and yesterday was being transferred to a hospital in the larger town of Petro Pavlosk for medical treatment.