On February 2, 1959 in the Ural Mountains of Russia nine experienced hikers mysteriously died. Found near Dyatlov Pass, named for the expedition's leader, Igor Dyatlov, the deaths occurred on the east side of the mountain that in Mansi means Mountain of the Dead.
The group originally contained eight men and two women, all of whom were experienced in ski tours, with the intention of reaching Mt. Otorten. On January 27, 1959 the group began their tour to Mt. Otorten but lost a member due to sickness the following day. There were now nine people.
Journals and personal cameras were discovered at their final camping site which made it possible to piece together the route the group had chosen and that had placed them in the infamous pass.
It appeared that as they were trying to clear the pass the weather took a turn for the worse and forced them to lose their way. They set up camp for the night on February 2, 1959 to wait for the storm to subside.
Igor Dyatlov was supposed to send word they had safely returned via telegraph around February 12, 1959. When no message had arrived by February 20, 1959 an emergency search party was put together that eventually involved the police and the army.
On February 26, 1959 the abandoned camp site was finally discovered. The tent was found to be horribly mangled and it appeared as though the group of nine hikers had forcibly cut their way out.
Footprints outside the tent indicated the group had left shoeless and even barefoot. Following the prints led investigators to the edge of a forest where five of the nine bodies were found. Two were without shoes and in their underwear. It would take over two months to find the remaining four bodies.
Originally thought to have died from hypothermia, upon further examination it was found that one of the women was missing her tongue and that three of the hikers had sustained a massive skull fracture and two massive chest fractures. The force of these traumas were said to be similar to traumas sustained in a car crash.
Oddly, there were no visible signs on the surface of the bodies to indicate the internal damage. Reportedly it was as though the trauma inside their bodies was caused by a powerful, unknown pressure. It was even postulated that the internal injuries could not have been caused by a human because the force of it was just too great.
Some of the corpse's skin was a strange orange to brown color and they appeared to have aged prematurely. Some of the victim's clothes were even tested and found to be highly radioactive.
Investigators, in trying to pin down the real cause for these deaths, found it strange that no other footprints were found in the vicinity and that there were no outward signs of a struggle from the victims. It was like they did not have time to defend themselves.
Some believe the incident was a military experiment gone awry and others blame the paranormal. For instance, it was reported that a separate group of hikers located in the general area of those who died spotted bright, orange spheres hovering over the ill-fated site on the night of February 2, 1959.
And in 1990 a former police officer who investigated the incident said he was told to remain quiet about the report of the orange spheres. In an article he wrote he admitted that he himself believed the carnage was somehow connected to and caused by these UFO's.
Dyatlov group Tent
The Investigation
Initially
the officials were hesitant to sound an alarm about tourists when they
missed their day they were supposed to call. from Vizhay Group of Blinov
that was mentioned in the Dyatlov diary on January 24th returned in the
middle of February and reported a heavy snowstorm in the area of the
Kholat Syakhl and future Dyatlov Pass. In light of this information it
was assumed that tourists are spending these extra days somewhere in the
safety. Risking lives to make extra miles do get back at the due date
made no sense. Head of sport club of UPI, Lev Semenovich Gordo, even
lied about receiving a telegram from Dyatlov about the delay to calm
parents of Dubinina and Kolevatov. He assumed that in few days the group
of Igor Dyatlov is going to make it anyway. Relatives eventually forced
to organize a search party by complaining to the local head of the
Communist party. Negative publicity was unwanted and actions had to be
taken. The head of the military department of UPI, Colonel Georgy
Semenovich Ortyukov, took charge of search and rescue party. Many of students volunteered to find look
for their lost friends. Several rescue parties were sent to
the region on 21st of February. One of these groups were headed by
Blinov and another Sogrin. Both groups just returned from their trips
and knew the conditions of the region. Another group of Vladislav
Karelin was in the area and joined the search effort. Planes took off
from Ivdel airport to search for the group from the air.
On February 22nd several prison guards from the IvdelLAG under
leadership of captain A.A. Chernischev and another 7 officers of
MVD (cops) under command of leutenant Potapov have joined the
search. Another three groups were formed in UPI from student
volunteers under leadership of Oleg Grebennik, Moises Akselrod
and Boris Slobcov. Additionally local mansi hunters volunteered
to help and look for the vanished group. Moscow sent several
specialists including E.P. Maslenikov, Baskin, Bardin and
Schulzhenko.
On February 23rd group of Boris Slobcov was dropped near mount
Otarten, a final destination for Dyatlov. The next day on
February 24th they reached the mountain and came to conclusion
that tourists never made it this far. Students did not find any
records, flags or anything else that would indicate recent visit
of a group.
On February 25th Boris Slobcov and his group finally discovered
the trail of skis that he assumed to be that of Dyatlov. The
next day on February 26th they discovered the tent on the slope
of Kholat Syakhl. Ironically Slobcov was among those who
actually helped to construct the tent three years earlier from
two tents, making it longer and larger. He recognized it
immediately. Unfortunately no one expected to find the tourists dead so
there was no attempt to preserve or record the footprints of people
around the Dyatlov Pass. To this day there has been a discussion of
exactly how many people were in this pass on that fateful day. However
judging by words of the people involved in the search and who
took the lower right picture there were definitely 8- 9 tracks
of footprints left by tourists who wore almost no footwear.
Their feet pressed the snow and this left a characteristic
"columns" of pressed snow with a footprint on top. Members of
the group walked in a single file with a tall men walking in the
back. His footprints partially covered footprints of his friends
who walked in front of him. Overall the path gave an impression
of organized and uneventful descent down the slope of the
mountain. Several trails would deviate from the general
direction, but then rejoin the group. Other footprints were also
discovered and photographed. It is hard to say if these were
left by someone else or rescuers themselves.
The first
thing that the rescue party discovered was a tourist tent with the stove
that the Dyatlov made by himself. For reasons that are were never
answered, the sides of the tent were cut by the tourists. Judging by the
number of cuts they were made from inside. It is hard to explain why
they chose this strange exit for leaving the tent completely ignoring
the entrance. Many of the members were not fully clothed then this
happened. Yet, warm clothes, shoes, sweaters, knives and anything that
could keep them warm and help survive in Siberian wilderness were
abandoned. In fact most of the footwear and clothes were stacked in the middle
and edges of the tent. Additionally Boris Slobcov discovered a
flash light of Chinese production on the roof of the tent. It
laid on a snow cover 5-10 cm in thickness and had no snow on
top. He turned on the flashlight. It was in working condition.
Students retrieved three photo cameras from the tent, group
diary, some alcohol and few minor things. They hurried
down the mountain to the campsite that was already established
at the base of the mountain. Several mansi natives joined the
group. Additionally Egor Semenovich Nevolin, a radioman, joined
the search party. At 6pm they radioed back about their discovery
on the last campsite of the Dyatlov group. UPI informed them
that a large search group with will be delivered by a helicopter
to their location. They would also deliver two large military
tents for better comfort and security. A detective would join
the search and rescue effort with Colonel Ortyukov as well.
Several members started cooking dinner while every one else
attempted to find clues about the direction of future searches.
They found 710 rubles and railroad tickets for the whole group.
Most took this as a sign of a good omen. They assumed that
criminals were not involved since they would steal everything of
value. During dinner Boris Slobcov raised a toast for the health
of his friends and expressed hope that they will be found soon.
One of the locals, Ivan Paschin, was less optimistic about
prospects of finding everyone alive and suggested that they
should probably drink for the dead rather than the living. It
was a big mistake. Students took these words as offensive and
almost beat up the local for his pessimism. Still no one could
believe in the possibility that that group of young women and
men can simply perish like that in Siberian Taiga.
27th February- The next morning Yury Koptelov and Michael
Scharavin went to look for a new place for a campsite. They
explored the valley of the Lozva river when a tall cedar
attracted their attention. A fairly even and large area near
this cedar could provide the search party a better view of the
mountain and surrounding locations. Both men approached the
cedar and stopped. Two bodies lay in the snow and remains of the
fire were visible near by. Bodies were carefully laid side by
side. Snow wasn't very deep in this location due to constant
blow of the wind so it became very clear that they found two
bodies of the missing group. The first thing that stroke the
searching group was the cloths of the dead. They had no shoes
and were almost completely naked. Some theories later will blame
this on "paradoxical undressing", but we will see later that it
had nothing to do with the mental condition of the tourists.
Prosecutor of Ivdel, Vasily Ivanovich Tempalov, discovered
another body just 400 meters from the cedar. The body of a man
laid on the back with his head pointing in the direction of the
tent. Students quickly recognized Igor Dyatlov, the head of the
group. Mansi hunters with their dogs started to explore the
mountain side and quickly discovered the body of Kholmogorova
about 500 meters from Dyatlov group. The position of her body
pointed in the direction of the tent. It became evident that
both tourists actually tried to make way from the tall cedar
back to the tent, but didn't make it all the way.
Two Bodies under Cedar. Still unidentified
Bodies of Yuri Krivonishenko and Yuri Doroshenko on the left. On the
right are remains of the extinguished fire and a cedar that according to
some tourists is still there. Although it is hard to find the exact
location today.
Igor Dyatlov (as he was found on the left and cleared snow on the right)
Zina Kholmogorova
Meanwhile the contents of the tent from the Dyatlov group were
removed. This happened chaotically, without any order, photos or
even presence of anyone from the law. Students simply removed
the objects and attempted to organize belongings by name. We can
understand their honest desire to return these things to
families of the dead, however in doing so they undermined any
research in this area. We have only few testimonies from the
people who undertook these actions. Some of them were
conflicting and thus more confusing. They discovered that the
group was apparently was about to have their dinner. A self made
newspaper "Evening Otorten" was also found here. The date was
marked as 1st February 1959. One of the unusual and unexpected
findings was a skiing pole that with clear cutting marks.
Tourists didn't have any extra poles. It is unclear why someone
in the right mind would damage the pole on purpose. Among other
things tourists also left their footwear. Many had two pairs,
one for the actual hike and another, softer one, were used in
the tent to keep warm at night. Both pairs were found abandoned.
This could be explained that whatever forced them out of the
tent came in the time then everyone was changing and preparing
for a sleep. Additionally the tent contained several knives and
hatchets. These were abandoned too for some reason, although
some tourists had knives with them when they left.
Next week of search did not yield any results. Only thing that
was found was another Chinese flash light in the valley of Lozva
valley. The batteries were dead, but the flash light was in "on"
position. On March 2nd three students and two Mansi hunters
discovered a camp base in the Auspiya valley. Tourists left some
of their food provision and gear to lighten the load (55 kg in
total). Additionally there were mandolin of Rustem Slobodin, few
clothes, ski shoes and a pair of skis. On the way back tourists
intended to retrieve these things. None of these things were
taken however.
On March 3rd many of the students returned home, since they had
to return to their studies. Moscow specialists also left. Their
report is somewhat short and inconclusive. They could not
explain the reason why would several normal people would abandon
the tent in the middle of the night without shoes and little
protection from the wind.
Left: digging around the tent
Right: Michael Sharavin (left), Vladimir Strelnikov, Boris
Slobcov, Vyacheslav Chalizov (right holding a map) Photo by V.
Brusnicin (25th February 1959)
On March 5th the body of Rustem Slobodin was recovered. He was
discovered on the same general line from a cedar to a tent. His
position was in between bodies of Dyatlov (180 meters away) and
Kholmogorova (150 meters). He was the only member of the group
that fell while fairly warm. The head from his body melted the
snow that subsequently froze forming a frozen bed underneath the
dead body. His watches recorded 8:45.
The cedar had its lower branches cut. Later
inspection showed that part of human skin and blood was still lodged in the bark
crevices. Bodies of both tourists were laying side by side near an
extinguished fire. Part of their clothes were carefully cut off. Pants
of Yuri Krivonishenko were left in place. They showed certain degree of
radioactivity. After initial discovery of five bodies remaining four
tourists were found almost half a mile away in May of the same year. This group managed to dig a
den in the snow to keep themselves warm. These bodies had broken ribs,
broken skull and in case of Lyudmila Dubinina a missing tongue. Above
you see a tent that belonged to the group.
Judging by the type of helicopters and their markings there were at
least three machines involved in search and rescue efforts. This
included at least one civilian (bottom left picture) and at least two
military helicopters. Soviet Union rarely showed so much dedication in
search of common tourists. Some explain this care as ties to KGB of one
or more members from the Dyatlov group. However another explanation
might lie in the fact that climb of Mount Otorten was devoted to
Communist Congress in Moscow. Obviously it had certain degree of
political motivation for the officials to spare no costs in searches.
Findings
Judging by the remains near the bodies
it was concluded that young men and women managed to start a fire, but
failed to sustain it for extended period of time.
However no one could explain why bodies showed so many fractures,
internal bleeding, burned parts of the body. Another perplexity and
mystery were added by a fact that two of the sweaters showed increased
radiation levels. A fact that no one could explain fifty years ago and to this
day remains a mystery. Several witnesses and family members reported
strange discoloration on the bodies of the victims. One of the family
members compared their skin color to those of the people of African
descent. Additionally the group was missing at least one camera and a
diary of Kolevatov. Yury Yudin testifies that he led a detailed
description in his own blog in addition to the diary that was a
group diary. It went missing either on the mountain or from
evidence room. Either way no one remembered seeing it.
Ludmila Dubinina on the left and bodies of Alexander
Kolevatov and Nikolay Thibeaux-Brignolle
Den
The den was made by surviving four members of the Dyatlov group
70- 75 meters from the cedar in a ravine that was hidden from
cold winds. It was probably an idea of Zolotarev. It was a
common way to survive winters at the front and given the
circumstances it offered the best chance for survival for those
who remained behind waiting in hope that their three friends
will make it to the top of the mountain. It further undermines
the theory of paradox undressing. The group clearly realized
their threats and did everything they could to preserve
themselves. Cedar branches were brought here and laid out to
minimize contact of human bodies and cold snow underneath.
Furthermore Ludmila Dubinina had sweater and pants of
Krivonischenko. Both as it turned out had radiation present on
them. However the strangeness of the case was not resolved. In
fact it became more weird. All, but three members had
significant damage to their bones. They were crushed with
immense force. Doctors compared the extend of the damage to
being hit by a car. A second thing that is striking about the
den is that bodies were actually found few feet from their
improvised shelter in the deep part of the ravine on the area of
only 4 square meters. Some of the clothes that were taken from
bodies left underneath the cedar tree were placed on the cedar
branches, but apparently they were not used.
Ortyukov is in
military uniform and radio man is pictured here on the right in
a stripped hat. Removal of the bodies from a ravine.
Dubinina and Thibeaux-Brignolle
Zolotarev and Kolevatov
Medical Autopsy of the bodies
Autopsy of first four bodies (Doroshenko, Krivonischenko,
Dyatlov, Kholmogorova) was performed in a village of Vizhai on
March 4th, 1959 by Boris Alekseevich Vozrojdenniy (ironically
his last name means "reborn" in Russian, interesting choice of
profession). He recorded damages and clothing that the victims
wore at the time of their discovery. Autopsy of Rustem Slobodin
who was found on the 5th of March was performed on 8th of March.
Yuri Doroshenko
Yury Doroshenko is one of the two tourists
that were found under a cedar. He was most sturdy and tallest
member of the group at a height of 180 cm. He was wearing a vest
and a shirt, short sleeve shirt, knit pants and shorts over
pants. On his feet a pair of wool socks. Pants had tears inside
of the thighs. Additionally the left foot had burnt socks
(marked by 13). No footwear.
-
ear, nose and lips are covered by blood (marked by 2)
-
right armpit has a bruise 2cm*1.5 cm (3)
-
inner surface of the right shoulder has two abrasions 2cm*1.5cm
with no bleeding in the tissues, two cuts on the skin (5)
- in
the upper third of right forearm brown- red bruises with size
4*1cm, 2.5*1.5cm, 5*5cm (6)
-
fingers on both hands have torn skin (9 and 10)
-
bruised skin in the upper third of both legs (11)
-
signs of frostbite on face and ears
- on
the right cheek, foamy gray fluid discharges from the mouth
Amount of urine was 150 grams. Foamy grey fluid that was found
on the right cheek of the deceased gave some doctors a reason to
think that before death someone or something was pressing on his
chest cavity. Discharges were quiet common during forceful
interrogation by the NKVD (Stalin's Secret Police) and Special
Forces. This could also be a reason of a nasty fall from a tree. Nevertheless this aspect was ignored in the final
papers. Cause of death: hypothermia.
George (Yuri) Krivonischenko
His
body was the second discovered underneath the cedar. He was
dressed in shirts, long sleeved shirt, swimming pants, pants and
torn sock on his left leg. He had no footwear.
-
bruises on the forehead 0.3*1.8cm and a bruise around left
temporal bone (1)
-
diffuse bleeding in the right temporal and occipital region due
to damage to temporalis muscle (2)
- tip
of the nose is missing (3)
-
frostbitten ears (4)
-
bruises on the right side of the chest 7*2cm and 2*1.2cm (5)
-
bruises on hands (6)
-
detachment of the epidermis on the back of his left hand at
width of 2cm (7)
-
portion of the epidermis from the right hand is found in the
mouth of the deceased
-
bruises on the thighs (8-11) with minor scratches
-
bruise on his left buttock 10*3cm (16)
-
abrasions on the outer side of the left size 6*2cm and 4*5 cm
(17-18)
-
bruises on the left leg 2*1, 2*1.5 and 3*1.3 cm (19-21)
-
burn on the left leg 10*4 cm (15)
The
amount of urine in the bladder was 500 grams. Cause of death:
hypothermia. He froze to death. The presence of skin between his
teeth that was torn from his hands might suggest that
Krivonischenko tried to stay on the cedar as long as he could.
Some theories speculate it was a result of his dedication to cut
as many tree branches as he could. Others claim something on the
ground kept him on a tree.
The first two bodies
of (Doroshenko and Krivonischenko) that were found from the
Dyatlov Incident showed an expected pattern of death. They froze
to death. Their clothes were removed by their friends. It might
sound bad, but this is the reality of Siberia. If you can't keep
yourself warm, you will die quickly. One of the most common
myths that surround these deaths is a theory of so- called
"paradoxical undressing". This theory ignores the fact that the
bodies were undressed after they died and it was done by other
members with a help of a knife in some cases. Different articles
of clothing were simply cut from the dead bodies or taken off
and used by other members of a group. These tourists clearly
showed logical will to live. There was no state of panic and
there was no illogical actions. Bodies were carefully and
respectfully laid side by side and their possessions were divide
among the survivors.
Zinaida Kolmogorova
Zinaida was better dressed than bodies underneath the cedar. She
had two hats, long sleeved shirt, sweater, another shirt and a
sweater with torn cuffs. It was unclear whether she cut them off
or they were torn by another person. She also had trousers,
cotton athletic pants, ski pants with three small holes on the
bottom. She also had three pairs of socks. No footwear and a
military mask.
-
swelling of meninges (important feature of hypothermia)
-
frostbites on the phalanges of fingers (2)
-
numerous bruises on hands and palms (2 and 3)
- a
long bruise that encircled her on the right side, 29* 6cm (1 and
4)
Amount of urine in bladder is 300 g. Her cause of death was
proclaimed as a hypothermia due to violent accident. Further
studies proved that she was not sexually active at the time of
her death.
Igor Dyatlov
The
head of the deceased was bare. He had unbuttoned fur coat with
pockets, a sweater, long sleeved shirt, ski pants over his
pants. Footwear was absent. He had only one pair of socks,
woolen on the right, cotton on the left. It is hard to explain
this uneven distribution. It could be that he had two socks on
one foot and later took it off to protect the other bare foot.
It might have been someone else's sock who simply gave it away
to protect a friend from a certain death. He had a pocket knife
and a photo of Zina Kolmogorova. The clock on the hand showed
5:31
-
minor abrasions on the forehead (1)
-
abrasions above the left eyebrow of brown- red color (2)
-
brown- red abrasions on both cheeks (3)
-
dried blood on lips
-
lower jaw had a missing incisor, the mucosa was intact that
suggest the tooth was lost long before the final trip
- on
the lower third of the right forearm and the palm surface many
small scratches of dark red coloration (4)
-
metacarpophalangeal joints on the right hand had brown red
bruises. This is common injury in hand to hand fights. To get a
better idea of the injuries just make
a fist. This is the part of the hand which you use to hit
someone.
-
brownish- purple bruises on the left hand, also superficial
wounds on the 2nd and 5th finger (5)
-
bruised knees without bleeding into the underlying tissues (6)
- on
the lower third of the right leg bruising (7)
-
both ankles had abrasions, bright red, size 1*0.5 cm and 3.0*2.5
cm. Hemorrhage into the underlying tissue (8)
There
were no internal injuries. Amount of urine in the bladder about
one liter. The cause of death was hypothermia. Later Yury Yudin
will testify that the long sleeved shirt found on the body of
Igor Dyatlov was his. But he gave it to Doroshenko then he was
departing. It would be logical to assume that Dyatlov got it
from a frozen body of the Doroshenko after he had died.
Rustem Slobodin
Rustem wore a long
sleeve shirt, another shirt, sweater, two pairs of pants, four
pairs of socks. Unlike previous bodies he wore one boot on his
right leg. His watches stopped at 8:45am. His pockets had 310
rubles and a passport. Additionally searchers discovered a
knife, pen, pencil, comb and a match box with a single sock.
-
minor brownish red abrasions on the forehead, two scratches are
1.5 cm long at the distance of 0.3 cm between them (1)
-
brownish red bruise on the upper eyelid of the right eye with
hemorrhage into the underlying tissues (2)
-
traces of blood discharge from the nose (3)
-
swollen lips
-
swelling and a lot of small abrasions of irregular shape on the
right half of the face (4)
-
abrasions on the left side of the face (5)
-
epidermis is torn from the right forearm (6)
-
bruises in the metacarpophalangeal joints on both hands. Similar
bruises are common in hand to hand combat (7)
-
brown cherry bruises on the medial aspect of the left arm and
left palm (8)
-
bruises on the left tibia in dimensions at 2.5* 1.5 cm (9)
Fracture of the frontal bone and hemorrhages (shaded areas) in
the temporalis muscle that were found on the skull of Rustem
Slobodin. Boris Alekseevich Vozrojdenniy suggested that this
could be done with some foreign blunt object. Medical autopsy
further states that Slobodin probably suffered loss of
coordination due to initial shock right after the blow that
could speed up his death from hypothermia. However the
conclusion is predictably careful. Death of Rustem Slobodin is
judged as a result from hypothermia. All bruises and scratches
were blamed on last minute agony. Although it is still somewhat
unclear how did he manage to harm his exterior hands and legs.
When the person falls even in an irrational state it is usually
the palms that suffer the most as well as medial aspects of the
legs. Injury to the head are less common, especially bilateral
ones. It is also usual to harm the face and sides of the skull
while the back of the head has no damage. In case of Slobodin
body we see the opposite. His injury pattern is a reverse of
what we would usually see in injuries suffered by a freezing man
in the last minutes of his or her life. It looks as if Rustem
fell repeatedly on his face as he was walking down the mountain.
And every time he fell he managed to hit the sides of the his
head. It is unusual to see in a man who was probably in a better
physical shape than anyone in the group. Even a long ski trip
could hardly be responsible for this alleged "clumsiness".
The remaining four bodies were inspected on May 9th, 1959. Their
bodies were found several months after their deaths by a Mansi
native Kurikov with his dog.
Ludmila Dubinina
Ludmila wore a short
sleeve shirt, long sleeve shirt, and two sweaters. The body was
covered by underwear, long socks, two pairs of pants. External
pair was badly damaged by fire and subsequently ripped. She also
wore a small hat and two pairs of warm sock. A third sock was
not paired. Ludmila apparently in the last attempt to preserve
her feet took off her sweater and cut it in two pieces. One half
she rapped around her left foot. Another half she left or
dropped unintentionally on the snow.
-
tongue is missing
-
soft tissues are missing around eyes, eyebrows, and left
temporal area, bone is partially exposed (1)
-
eyes are missing (1)
-
nose cartilages are broken and flattened (2)
- 2,
3, 4, 5 ribs are broken on the right side, two fracture lines
are visible (3)
- 2,
3, 4, 5, 6, 7 ribs are broken on the right side, two fracture
lines are visible (4)
-
soft tissues of the upper lip are missing, teeth and and upper
jaw is exposed
-
massive hemorrhage in the heart's right atrium
-
bruise in the middle left thigh, size 10*5cm (6)
-
damaged tissues around left temporal bone, size 4*4cm (7)
Occasionally you hear
claims that the tongue was ripped, or eaten, or whatnot. The
medical records simply that "the tongue is missing".
Vozrojdenniy describes missing hypoglossal muscle as well as
muscles of the floor of the mouth. That is it.
There is no explanation, theories, condition of the surrounding
tissues. It looks weird especially given the fact previous
bodies had more detailed autopsies. There is no credible
explanation for this vague statement. Although it is mentioned
that the stomach contained about 100 g of coagulated blood. It
is used by some as an indication that the heart was beating and
the blood was flowing when tongue was removed from a mouth. The
cause of death is stated as hemorrhage into right atrium of the
heart, multiple fractured ribs and internal bleeding.
Semen Zolotarev
- eye
balls are missing (1)
-
missing soft tissues around left eye brow, size 7*6cm, bone is
exposed (2)
-
flair chest, broken 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 ribs on the right side, two
fracture lines (3)
-
open wound on the right side with exposed bone, 8*6cm in size
(4)
Both Zolotarev and Dubinina have an interesting pattern of
injuries. They are very similar in direction and force despite
difference in shape, height and body composition of the two.
This would suggest that whatever caused these injuries was not a
single uniform event.
Aleksandr Kolevatov
-
lack of soft tissues around eyes, eyebrows are missing, skull
bones are exposed
-
broken nose (2)
-
open wound behind ear, size 3*1.5cm (6)
-
deformed neck (4)
Nikolay Thibeaux-Brignolle
-
multiple fractures to the temporal bone, with extensions to the
frontal and sphenoid bones (1), the close up of the fractures to
the skull is shown below
-
bruise on the upper lip on the left side (2)
-
hemorrhage on the lower forearm, size 10*12cm (3)
Vozrojdenniy, who
undertook the autopsy, excluded accidental fall on the rock as a
possible cause for such a massive and unusual fracture. Some
theorized that the shape might be due to pressure applied during
alleged avalanche that hit unsuspected tourists while they slept
in the tent. If Nikolay slept on a camera this sudden increase
in pressure could leave a mark on his head, however the shape of
the lens is round and the damage would have a more round shape.
Another reason why some specialists refused this theory is a
massive hemorrhage that would make Thibeaux- Brignolle unable to
move on his own and leave the site of the tent. There was no
signs of dragging on the snow and foot prints suggest that
everyone in the group moved on their own two feet.
Summary
Tent
is ripped from the inside. Initially the fact was overlooked,
but a woman who worked for the police department laundry
services clearly identified that the damage came from the
inside. Further expertise proved her hypothesis to be correct.
Nine
tourist leave the tent with little clothes while outside
temperature dipped to -30°C (-22°F). Most of them lacked proper
footwear. Warm clothes, boots are left inside the abandoned
tent. Survivors go to extreme lengths to preserve themselves in
their harsh conditions. They even cut the clothes of their dead
friends to protect themselves. They even dig a den that does not
save them. Thus the theory of "paradox undressing" has no
support in the available facts.
One
of the poles show signs of damage made by the knife.
Presence of radiation on the cloths that were worn by one of the
members of the group (George (Yuri) Krivonischenko).
Kolevatov kept a personal diary. Yuriy Yudin, the only survivor
of the group, testified that it was with him on the last trip.
The diary went missing.
Judging by the pictures of the group at least one of the cameras
went missing.
Strange unidentified cloth "obmotki", an old school version of
socks, was found near the bodies.
Missing tongue. Cause is unknown. What makes the fact more
mysterious is lack of coherent explanation or description of the
damage. Autopsy doesn't mention the state or nature of the
surrounding tissues.
The
bodies of the dead tourists show signs of unexplained damages
including broken ribs, scrapes and etc.
Semen
Zolotarev introduces himself as "Alexander" to the group. In
fact common memorial to the group lists his name incorrectly.
Semen
Zolotarev and
George (Yuri) Krivonischenko are buried
separately from the rest of the group on a cemetery that is
officially closed for several years.
Money, food, valuables likes watches, alcohol and blankets
remain in place.
Secret launches/ UFO
Around the same time
Soviet armed forces did launch several rockets from Baykanur base.
Although military claimed the rockets landed in the north Ural
mountains, several geologists 70 km from the mountains saw some
glowing and pulsating orbits flying in the direction of the
Kholat Syakhl on a day of tragedy (evening of Febrauary 1st). As part of technological
theory there have been suggestions that an infrasound might have
been responsible for sudden unpleasant feelings among the
tourists.
These are only few of the theories. Many are
more bizarre, strange and quiet frankly dumb ideas that
circulate out there. Some blame the spirits others blame the
paradoxical undressing that lead to hypothermia. All these
theories ignore the fact that only two bodies showed signs of
undressing after they left the tent. And it was the first two
bodies found under the cedar. Their clothes were removed after
they died. We can assume the bodies were beginning to show first
signs of rigor mortis or stiffness after death. The clothes of
dead victims were cut off and later found near the bodies in the
den. This proves that people were aware of the danger of
hypothermia and tried everything they could to save themselves.
Why did they leave the tent with all the clothes and boots
inside is still a mystery. Many theories surfaced in the past
decades. Few of these,
however, explain a wide range of physical injuries that the
group experienced.
Unfortunately these were not the last victims of the
Kholat Syakhl. From 1960-61 several airplane
crashes took away lives of nine pilots and geologists who were sent
here. For a time flights were totally canceled in the region. Among
more recent victims of the mountain was a crash of Mi-8 in
2009. Pilots ignored long standing unofficial no- fly zone.
Fortunately
they survived the cash, but they couldn't explain why their helicopter
went down so quickly and without any warning. Tourists today repeat
the
track of the Dyatlov group, but none of groups ever contain 9 people.
In
the early 2000's a group of 9 tourists under supervision of rescue
crew
repeated the same descent down the slope of Kholat Syakhl. Despite
snow
cover and night time none of the participants got any significant
bruises or cuts. Those who observed the students did not report any
difficulty in locating members on the mountain side. None of the group
members were lost and vocal/ eye contact was constant between group
members at all times. This only adds to the mystery of what really
happened on Kholat Syakhl that day. The case of Dyatlov Pass deaths
remains open.
intriguing case...
ReplyDeleteu have to wonder
ReplyDeleteThe Thing got them
ReplyDeleteThe 9 were only attacked when the Russian rockets exploded near an enraged Yeti. It was under the impression that the group were the ones who set them off.
ReplyDelete