MYAGDI, Oct 16: The recovery of the bodies of five Russian climbers who lost their lives during the ascent of Mount Dhaulagiri has begun.
The recovery of the bodies of the climbers, found at an altitude of 7,100 meters, has begun. A team of Sherpas, who reached the mountain via an Air Altitude helicopter, has started recovering the bodies from the site, according to Bharat Shrestha, Deputy Superintendent of Police at the District Police Office, Myagdi.
Bodies of Russian climbers brought to Kathmandu (Photo Feature)
A team of five Sherpas, led by Mingma Sherpa, the operator of Seven Summit Trek, has been assigned to recover the bodies. By 11AM today, one body had been brought down to the Italian base camp, and preparations were underway to collect and bring the remaining bodies to the base camp, according to DSP Shrestha.
After staying at the high camp of the base camp for the ascent of Dhaulagiri, they lost contact from an altitude of 7,600 meters at 11 AM on October 7. According to the police, the bodies of Alexander Dusheyko, Oleg Kurgulov, Chistikov Vladimir, Nosenko Mikhail, and Shpilevoz Dmitri were found in the afternoon of October 9.
The recovery of the bodies was delayed due to bad weather and challenging terrain at a location where neither helicopters could land nor people could reach on foot. The rescuers had to descend by ropes from a helicopter to reach the site where the bodies were located.
Through ‘IAM Trekking and Expedition’, 14 Russian male climbers had gone for the ascent of Mount Dhaulagiri. Two of them successfully reached the summit. Seven climbers aborted the ascent midway and returned.
Earlier, the helicopter sent to retrieve the bodies returned empty. The world’s seventh-highest mountain, Dhaulagiri (8,167 meters), is located in Dhaulagiri Rural Municipality-4, Myagdi. According to the Department of Tourism, only 14 Russian climbers received permits to climb Dhaulagiri this autumn season.
