The Sevzheldorlag (Pechorzheldorlag) camp outpost near the Sarmayu rail station was set up in the early 1940s. Prisoners worked there, building a section of the railway until 1950. In 1947 the prisoners built a brickworks to meet the needs of the railroad. The camp closed in the mid-1950s; free workers continued to work at the brickworks which closed in 1961. Builders report that when they were working in the quarry in 1957 human remains were found 150-170 metres from the railway. They halted their activities.

The first expedition to Sarmayu was organised in summer 2006. An expedition led by N.A. Baranov from the Inta museum of history and local studies found the burial site in June 2013. The expedition members, museum staff and Inta schoolchildren, raised a commemorative cross there.