A sudden storm claimed the lives of five climbers during the ascent of Mount Elbrus in Russia, relief said on Friday, one of the most serious tragedies to have hit Europe’s highest peak in recent years.
This Russian Caucasus massif has experienced a major tourist boom for about two years, the Russians rediscovering the region thanks to travel restrictions due to the pandemic.
Eleven of the survivors were hospitalized including two in intensive care, according to the ministry of health of Kabardino-Balkaria, region where the Elbrus is located. The injured suffer in particular from frostbite.
What happened ?
Thursday, a group of 19 climbers found themselves trapped at an altitude of more than 5,300 meters by a sudden deterioration in the weather.
In the morning, on the way to the top, one of the participants felt bad, so that one of the guides turned back with her.
It was then that the storm suddenly hit the mountain and the woman died shortly after in the arms of her attendant.
Failing to succeed in reaching the emergency services, this guide went back down alone and was able to alert the authorities who organized the operation to save the 17 climbers still in the mountains.
They attempted a descent but were slowed down by the weather conditions, then by an accident in which one of the climbers broke his leg.
“Two participants died of hypothermia”, explains tour operator Elbrus.Guide, who organized the climb. Then “during the descent two (other) participants lost consciousness and were carried to the Garabachi camp at 3,900 meters where they died without having regained consciousness”.
Rescue work despite the wind, snow, -20 °
After being alerted, the emergency services deployed 69 people and 16 vehicles. Videos released by rescuers show them at night, supporting climbers staggering or pulling a stretcher, trudging through thick powder blown by strong winds.
The relief operation began on Thursday evening and lasted at least five hours, until 2:45 am local Friday.
The company Elbrus.Guide explained on its Instagram account that the group was supervised by four professional guides.
The Russian Investigative Committee has announced the opening of an investigation for non-compliance with “security requirements”.
“I had already walked in such weather, there were such climbs without problem. But there was a problem, and I do not deny my responsibility”, said one of the guides, Anton Nikiforov, lying on a hospital bed on the Rossia-24 news channel.
Tourist boom
Elbrus, which rises to 5,642 meters, is the highest peak in the Caucasus and in Europe. Fatal accidents are regular there, but rarely with such a heavy toll. In May 2007, seven climbers were dead, again in difficult weather conditions.
The summit is an increasingly popular destination in Russia, driven by the development of domestic tourism due to the Covid-19 epidemic.
According to the authorities of Kabardino-Balkaria, quoted by the Interfax agency, this mountainous region has seen the number of tourists increase by 30%, to 460,000, in the first half of 2021, compared to the same period of 2019. They expect to receive 800,000 visitors this year.
The slopes of Mount Elbrus currently have 15.4 km of ski slopes and seven ski lifts. The company operating the area has indicated that it wants to develop 25 to 30 km of additional slopes and four cable cars.
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