Two tourists died in the mountains of Kabardino-Balkaria within a day.
Rescuers in Kabardino-Balkaria evacuated two deceased climbers and at least two injured individuals from the mountains during the day. A tourist from St. Petersburg suffered fatal injuries after being caught in a rockfall, the second deceased was a woman from India.
At least two people died in the mountains of Kabardino-Balkaria within 24 hours on August 19. Rescuers evacuated the bodies of two deceased and at least two injured climbers.
The first incident occurred on the peak "20 Years of VLKSM" in the Cherek region of the republic: a group of three tourists from St. Petersburg requested help from rescuers in the morning of August 19 while at an altitude of 2200 meters.
The climbers were caught in a rockfall, sustaining bruises and other injuries. Rescuers, upon reaching the group, found one of the group members, a 48-year-old man, dead, reported the main department of the Ministry of Emergency Situations in Kabardino-Balkaria.
The body of the deceased and two injured individuals, a man and a woman, were evacuated by helicopter from the Ushkulu area to the village of Verkhnyaya Balkaria. There, the body of the man was handed over to investigators, and the injured were handed over to medical personnel. The group registered their route at the "Bezenge" alpine camp, the agency noted.
In the evening of August 19, another registered group of tourists requested assistance - they were on the slope of Mount Cheget at an altitude of about 2700 meters. One of the group members, a 51-year-old tourist from India, died. Late in the evening, the woman's body was evacuated to the Cheget glade, where it was also handed over to law enforcement, the Ministry of Emergency Situations informed.
The group of foreigners also consisted of three people, and they were preparing to ascend Elbrus, as noted in the report from the republican department of the Investigative Committee. Investigators reported on checks related to the two fatal incidents, while the cause of death of the woman from India was not specified.
The deceased climber from St. Petersburg, according to the channel, was the leader of his group. He was a Doctor of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, worked at an institute, and became an instructor of mountain sports tourism relatively recently, writes the Telegram channel SHOT.
The rockfall began when all the tourists were in their tents set up by the Tyutyunsu River. "The campsite is located away from the slopes and appeared safe," claims a source citing rescuers.
"Caucasian Knot" reported on other accidents in the mountains of Kabardino-Balkaria. Thus, at the end of July, five climbers from Bosnia and Herzegovina and one resident of the Krasnodar region died while ascending Elbrus. In mid-July, a 48-year-old climber from Malaysia died while descending from Elbrus, who was in an unregistered group with two guides.
On July 10, two climbers fell into the Adyl-su gorge in Kabardino-Balkaria while ascending the Via-tau peak. One died, the other sustained multiple injuries. Prior to that, on July 7, a climber from St. Petersburg died suddenly on Elbrus.
Elbrus is a two-peaked cone of an extinct volcano, with both peaks exceeding 5.6 kilometers in height, according to the "Caucasian Knot" reference "Elbrus - the Patriarch of the Caucasus Mountains".