Last ascent: tourists died in Buryatia from hypothermia

On Tuesday, April 21, it became known that three people died of hypothermia on a hiking route while descending from a mountain in the Okinsky district of Buryatia. The UK has opened a criminal case on the provision of services that do not meet security requirements. Details of the incident can be found in the Izvestia article.

What is known about the death of tourists in Buryatia

On April 21, it became known about the death of tourists in Buryatia. According to the regional Investigative Committee, a group of 15 tourists from Krasnoyarsk arrived in the village of Mondy in the Okinsky district of the Republic of Buryatia to climb Munku-Sardyk peak. The ascent began on April 18. The tour group was scheduled to return on April 22 by noon.

"However, on the night of April 21, several tourists from the group went to the highway at the foot of the mountains and left a note in a roadside cafe informing them of the deaths of three people during the descent. After that, they went back up to the scene. The owner of the cafe sent a message in the morning, after which a rescue team moved to the tourists," the Telegram channel of the Investigative Committee of Russia for the Republic of Buryatia says.

The administrator of the Tunka Valley Hotel, Juliana, told Izvestia that there were tourists staying at the hotel who were also planning to climb the Munku-Sardyk peak. They left for the mountains late at night, but when climbing, the wife of one of the participants twisted her leg. Because of this, the couple was forced to come down.

According to the interlocutor of the editorial office, half of the other group caught up with them on the way, they said that they had victims who could not return, and asked to give a note.

"They wrote in the note that they had victims, and they asked her to leave at a roadside cafe where there are guys on quad bikes. They asked the quad bikes to come as close as possible to save the victims themselves," the hotel administrator said.

According to preliminary data, the cause of death of three people was hypothermia.

As a local guide told RIA Novosti, bad weather has been on the mountain for several days in a row. During his last ascent, the temperature was around minus 10-15 degrees. This time, according to him, the weather was also bad, snow fell.

RIA Novosti also learned that climbing the mountain was commercial. The Krasnoyarsk Regional Mountaineering Federation has no information that "these were climbers from the federation, from the alpine clubs."

Criminal case, rescue operation

According to the Investigative Committee, in order to establish all the circumstances of the incident, a criminal case was opened on the grounds of a crime under Part 3 of Article 238 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation ("provision of services that do not meet the requirements for the safety of life and health of consumers, resulting in the death of two or more persons by negligence").

Currently, an investigative task force has been sent to the group's base camp to conduct initial investigative actions, which will establish all the circumstances of the incident on the spot.

As reported in the Telegram channel of the republican agency for Civil Defense and Emergency Situations, a team of rescuers from the BRPSS consisting of 7 people and special equipment went to the scene.

Oleg Mironov, an operational duty officer of the Buryat Republican Search and Rescue Service, told the Vesti news agency that rescuers would need about four to five hours to reach the place of death of tourists. He also added that a rescue team of eight people was sent to evacuate the bodies.

"The entire staff has moved there in the number of eight people. [They are] getting to a place on the Bely Irkut River. They leave the car there and, accordingly, they will continue to climb up to the scene of the accident for about four to five hours.… Another Baikal search and rescue team will be deployed tomorrow," he said.

What is known about Mount Munku-Sardyk

Munku-Sardyk is the highest point of the Republic of Buryatia, located in the Okinsky district at an altitude of 3492 m above sea level on the border of Buryatia and Mongolia. In terms of height above sea level, it is second only to two other mountain peaks in Russia – Elbrus and Belukha.

A local guide, in an interview with RIA Novosti, also said that Mount Munku-Sardyk is difficult — category 1B. The ascent can be conditionally divided into three points: the first is the lake at an altitude of 2.6 thousand m, where anyone can reach in good weather, followed by an ascent to the "cushion" at an altitude of 3 thousand m, followed by the final assault on the height.

"In order to climb, it is necessary to have special climbing equipment. These are rubles, helmets, cats, a strapping system," he stressed, adding that in case of bad weather, groups usually deploy on the lake.

The recommended time for climbing the peak is up to two o'clock in the afternoon.

The Izvestia interlocutor also said that climbing the peak usually takes 20 hours.