Finally, after 61 years, the cause of death of a group of nine people found in the snowy mountains of Siberia has been determined.
This group had planned a cross-country trek of more than 300km, but unfortunately, they were unable to complete it and perished at the infamous Dyatlov Pass in the Ural Mountains in 1959.
Some victims were found with damage to their skulls and chests. Meanwhile, two members of the group, 21-year-old Lyudmila Dubinina and 38-year-old Semen Zolotarev, were missing their tongues and eyes. All the deceased were found dressed only in underwear or just socks.
Given the mysterious deaths of the nine victims, a series of hypotheses were proposed. Some believed the incident was caused by aliens or the Yeti, while others simply thought that extremely strong winds had killed the group. Furthermore, there were speculations that the group had been killed by Soviet rockets, were victims of some mystical activity, or had lost their lives while on a secret mission to meet American agents.
However, recently, Russian prosecutors offered an explanation for the cause of death of these nine individuals, simply stating that they died from hypothermia. Senior prosecutor Andrei Kuryakov stated that the group’s tent was affected by an avalanche and they had to take shelter behind a mountain ridge.
“It was a natural avalanche and they did everything they could. But here, we have a second reason why the entire group lost their lives. When they returned, they couldn’t see their tent, so they lit a fire to find it. Then the whole group froze to death in temperatures ranging from -40°C to -45°C. It was a fierce battle. Although there was no panic, they had no chance of survival in that situation,” Mr. Andrei said.
After 61 years, Russian prosecutors have finally found the cause of death for the nine victims who perished in the snowy mountains 61 years ago.
In the past, this mysterious incident has been mentioned in books, documentaries, films, and computer games. The story involves a group of graduates from the Ural Polytechnic Institute, led by 23-year-old Igor Dyatlov, who embarked on a trek involving skiing for over 300km to Mount Otorten (a name meaning “Don’t go there” in the local Mansi language). All of them were experienced skiers.
The young group was unable to achieve their goal, and when the rescue team arrived at the scene, they witnessed a haunting sight that would later baffle Soviet investigators.
At the time, investigators concluded that the nine victims had panicked and fled from their tent to the mountain, about 1.6km away, in the cold late night. They did not have time to get dressed, so some were only wearing socks and underwear, while others were barefoot.
A hypothesis put forward in 2014 suggested that the group had been driven mad by “infrasound,” a terrifying phenomenon caused by a rare wind that can induce feelings of discomfort, anxiety, and even panic. These are formed by air movement and travel in a fan-like shape. With sufficiently strong wind at the right angle, it could turn into an extremely powerful vortex, emitting very loud sounds and causing harm to humans.
The Yeti hypothesis originated from the headline of a newspaper page belonging to one of the nine victims. It was found in storage where this person kept equipment before undertaking the fateful trip.