SIBERIA’S hardiest diggers put their shovels to work Friday — by testing their grave-digging prowess at a crematorium in Russia’s third-largest city of Novosibirsk. The morbid competition, held every year, says its aim is to raise the prestige of the profession, improve grave-diggers’ work performance and attract younger generations to careers in the funeral industry. The team from Omsk took home the first-place prize of 30,000 rubles (US$400) after setting a new record by digging a grave in under 38 minutes. Each two-man team had to dig a coffin-sized hole with exact dimensions of 200 centimeters long, 80 centimeters wide and 160 centimeters deep. In addition to size and speed, diggers were judged on technique and accuracy. (SD-Agencies) |