Caught on camera: Earthquake hits Russia's Kamchatka mid-surgery, doctors calmly continue operating

In a dramatic and chilling moment caught on camera, a video shared on X has gone viral, showing the exact moment a powerful 8.8-magnitude earthquake struck Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula, right in the middle of a surgery.

The video, reportedly from a hospital in Kamchatka, shows a team of surgeons performing a delicate operation when the entire room begins to violently shake. Lights flicker, equipment sways, and ceiling tiles appear to tremble. Despite the chaos, the surgical team remains astonishingly calm, continuing the procedure with focused precision, even as tremors rattle the operating theatre.

Doctors in Kamchatka kept calm during the powerful quake — and never stopped the surgery

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They stayed with the patient until the end

The patient is doing well, according to the Health Ministry pic.twitter.com/swtdBFSpm5

— RT (@RT_com) July 30, 2025

This particular moment has humanised the disaster. Social media users around the world praised the medical staff’s bravery and professionalism, calling them "heroes in scrubs." Many noted how their unwavering commitment may have saved the life of the patient, who was undergoing cancer surgery at the time of the quake.

One of the strongest earthquakes ever recorded struck Russia's sparsely populated Far East on Wednesday, causing tsunamis up to four metres (12 feet) high across the Pacific and sparking evacuations from Hawaii to Japan.

The magnitude 8.8 quake struck off Petropavlovsk on Russia's remote Kamchatka peninsula, and was the largest since 2011 when one of magnitude 9.1 off Japan and a subsequent tsunami killed more than 15,000 people.

Wednesday's quake was the strongest in the Kamchatka region since 1952, the regional seismic monitoring service said, warning of aftershocks of up to 7.5 magnitude.

The epicentre is roughly the same as the massive 9.0 quake that year which resulted in a destructive, Pacific-wide tsunami, according to the USGS.

At least six aftershocks further rattled the Russian Far East, including one of 6.9 magnitude and another listed at 6.3.

The US Tsunami Warning Centers said waves exceeding three metres above the tide level were possible along some coasts of Ecuador, northwestern Hawaiian islands and Russia.