The unexplained bizarre deaths of 9 Russian hikers in 1959
I just stumbled across the fascinating tale of the Dyatlov Pass Accident. The case is full of bizarre findings. Nine hikers set out into the wilderness and were never seen alive again. Theit bodies were found in groups a good distance from their camp, all in little more than underwear, as if they had to flee their tent in a hurry. Their tent was ripped open from the inside, like they didn’t even have time to use the tent’s door. Five of the hikers showed no signs of trauma and likely died from hypothermia — two of which were found around a temporary fire that they made while in their underwear. None of them seemed to dare to return to the tent. The other four hikers died of internal injuries but showed no external wounds, one from a fractured skull, and two from fractured chests, as if they had been crippled by extreme pressure.
Here are some more facts of the case (from the Wikipedia article):
- Six of the group members died of hypothermia and three of fatal injuries.
- There were no indications of other people nearby apart from the nine travellers on Kholat Syakhl, nor anyone in the surrounding areas.
- The tent had been ripped from within.
- The victims had died 6 to 8 hours after their last meal.
- Traces from the camp showed that all group members (including those who were found injured) left the camp of their own accord, by foot. This implies that those with injuries were injured after they left the camp.
- The fatal injuries of the three bodies could not have been caused by another human being.
- Forensic radiation tests had shown high doses of radioactive contamination on the clothes of a few victims. These test results were not taken into account for the final verdict.
The only footprints found in the snow were those of the hikers, so it couldn’t have been caused by any sort of land animal, human or otherwise. There were no traces of an avalanche. The most curious part of the case is the high level of radioactivity found in the bodies. The families who attended to the burial procedures reported that the corpses’ skin that had turned orange and hair that had turned gray. None of the Russian military helicopter pilots would transport the corpses, not even in body bags. Did they know more than they let on?
The case was never solved. So what in the hell caused this accident? The Wikipedia article vaguely mentions aliens, but come on, let’s be real. Some kind of military testing perhaps? The radioactivity had to come from somewhere. I just can’t think of many things that would cause nine people to run out of a perfectly warm tent nearly naked into the snow, and not return for some hours while they slowly froze to death. And how did the four that suffered internal injuries die? It’s eerie. I’m getting goosebumps just thinking of it.
Man, what I wouldn’t give for a Light of Other Days-style wormhole to be able to look back into the past and see what happened there. My curiosity has been peaked, yet there are no answers to be found.
Something like this would make a great episode of CSI, unsolved ending included. Just have the episode unfold with increasingly bizarre findings in the case being discovered, and then cut to credits at the end of the hour with nothing solved, only dozens of questions raised. It would be a different experience from their typical format in which everything is neatly wrapped up about five minutes before the end of the episode, but I would love it.
February 27th, 2008 at 23:12
Thanks for the interesting read. I agree that it would make a thrilling dramatisation.
February 28th, 2008 at 02:14
Go ahead and remove this comment, but…
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/piqued
February 28th, 2008 at 09:27
Haha, good point. I know about that word, and I knew something was wrong when I was typing out “peak” because it didn’t feel right, but I didn’t come up with the pique spelling at all. I was internally arguing over “peak” or “peek”.
February 28th, 2008 at 11:13
I’m glad someone else pointed out “piqued” so I didn’t have to, and be that guy…
The victims had died 6 to 8 hours after their last meal.
Sounds like they were experimenting with Taco Bell in the Soviet Union.
Seriously, though, it’s an interesting story. There have been more recent cases of people in the former Soviet bloc finding big chunks of radioactive material in the wilderness near old military installations and such, but this sounds very different.
February 28th, 2008 at 11:20
See, now you guys have made it impossible for me to go back and correct that error, because none of these comments would make any sense.
July 22nd, 2008 at 14:53
Oh and I just checked your source.. Wikipedia… Why not check out the actual article http://www.sptimes.ru/index.php?action_id=2&story_id=25093
July 22nd, 2008 at 14:56
Actually, now that I think about it… When you look at those pictures… I guess carrying a RTG through several feet of snow wearing skis and carrying tons of gear would be easy! NOT! I once got lost in a gully in the Rocky Mountains.. I had to get rescued! There is actually zero chance they moved an RTG anywhere! Just look at t hem setting up camp! are you serious?
July 22nd, 2008 at 15:07
Wow, I wrote a length comment about this but it didn’t post for some reason. Anyways the person who foud the possible solution? So they traveled up to 1 1/2 kilometers with the radiation poisoning? If they were so able to move why did they flee from the tent so fast? Also, it is ignorant to say that the Alien theory is laughable. With todays technology we could easily get around 200 years ago unseen. Technology is relative to time… Humans have not been around long compared to the billions of years or more the universe has existed. So the argument that they would have to travel at lightspeed to get here unseen is stupid.. It’s the equivalent of us using stealth planes to get around unseen during the caveman years. Also, I am an engineer not just some kid. I know about astrophysics! Do you? I guess you personally visited the billions and billions of galaxies to check for other life huh? I personally think that you are ignorant and laughable! I mean you seriously think that earth is the only planet capable of sustaining life when their are literally billions of other galaxies.. We live in 1 galaxy! I think that you are ignorant and it is laughable that you rule out aliens as a possiblity. I have no idea what happened that day.. and I will not pretend to… The more you know the less you now… Why is it that the Nasa Astronauts had a press conference recently about the government hiding info about UFO’s etc? I guess astronauts are laughable to you too huh? You don’t even have to do research. Just realize that you are human and that we have existed for a trivial amount of time compared to the universe… Wake up
July 22nd, 2008 at 15:11
How does anything you say explain the woman missing her tongue? How could soldiers kill people from the inside? The coroners said the deaths coudln’t be caused by humans.. How would they even move an RTG? How would they get it open? Radiation sickness doesn’t cause people to run 1 1/2 kilometers in 30 below Celsius. Theory just doesn’t explain anything really
July 23rd, 2008 at 10:42
If you didn’t post so many comments in a row, you wouldn’t have been caught by the spam filter. Generally, blog etiquette says that you carefully consider your comment, then post a single comment. Don’t keep coming back and adding more as you think of it.
July 23rd, 2008 at 18:29
I’ve had this problem every so often on my blog as well. It’s nowhere near as popular as yours, of course, but I have one person who feels the need to comment on every post, but not necessarily with something useful. I think it’s some kind of first-post-! syndrome, in my case.
I found these links which might be interesting:
http://www.lostartofblogging.com/the-comment-etiquette-the-guide-to-proper-blog-commenting
http://dariablack.wordpress.com/2007/02/13/the-bloggers-guide-to-comment-etiquette/
http://www.blogherald.com/2007/08/16/time-wasting-blog-comments-comments-policies-and-comment-etiquette/
October 6th, 2009 at 07:49
Well – let’s see. Avalanche. Hikers go insane with fear nd run away. Explains the shredded tent and why they ran away. Also possibly the orangeskin from lying down in the snow for days on end. The tongue — well, animals get hungry, no?
It is a bit of a mystery though, and I know that my proffered explanation doesn’t really clean up all the questions!
October 13th, 2009 at 01:48
Most likely answer Mushrooms! they where tripping and ran off into the snow and the chick bit her own tongue off, no brusing was because the sub-zero temps. 2nd most likely nerve gas as the area was used for u.s.s.r milatry training. that would explain the orange skin and the area being closed for three years after
November 14th, 2009 at 17:11
On the pic of the tent there is bulky snow on top of it. The snow does not seem to have blown there. Ho did that snow get there?
October 4th, 2010 at 11:38
Alien life is completely possible for one thing. trillions of galaxies and we have barely explored our solar system. this story is so interesting because of all the loose ends. i dont know what happened but some proffesionals recorded that the footprints and behavior of the victims was as if they were blinded, which might explain the ripping open of the tents in a panic. one of you said an animal ate her tounge. well food is scares in that climate and i dont know any animal that would open a girls mouth and remove a tounge and leave the rest of the body. and she would have had claw marks and tooth marks on her somewhere on her face or something. russian weapons may be possible since it was the cold war but i dont know. the fact that there were not extra foot prints is scary. the signs that they would not return to camp is scary. the fact that the injuries were like getting hit by a car without any bruising or cuts is scary. the radiation is scary. an avalanche would cover the footprints in the snow. witnesses in the area saw orange lights in the sky.
September 29th, 2011 at 03:00
I saw the story about this incident just tonight on the History Channel. Of all thing’s, on the program entitled “Ancient Aliens”!! According to their program, some of the 9 had orange looking skin. As if poisoned by radiation. They also said the bodies had suffered from significant age progression, and some had gray hair. This too, unexplained? The tent had in fact been cut open from the inside, and no other tracks other the 9 hikers in their sock feet were found. Very strange, indeed.
September 29th, 2011 at 03:11
What I’ve seen on T.V. and read about this incident is that something “unknown” caused these people to cut open their tent and flee for their lives in just their sock feet and little more than their underwear in frigid, sub-zero Russian weather. 2 had skull fractures, 2 had broken ribs, and 1, a female, had her tongue cut out. Some had high levels of radiation with the skin appearing to turn orange, and all of them had suffered from age progression and graying hair. The Russian report says that a, and I quote, “a compelling unknown force” caused their deaths. They then Soviet authorities also closed that mountain off to hikers and skiers for 3 years after the incident.
September 30th, 2011 at 01:17
Love this mystery stuff! I too watched it on ancient aliens and I found it to be very mind boggling. A time machine would be ideal now so we could all see just how this went down!
September 30th, 2011 at 13:15
What I find it mind boggling is that no one questions the foot prints from the tent that ‘supposedly’ were clear enough to identify who they belonged to, and what footgear the owners were wearing, 22 days after the event. I live in a very cold and snowy region. In 22 days there is usually a huge change in the snow (new snowfall, wind damage, Feb. thaw, etc.). Notice the tent top is covered with snow. To say nothing of what effect the searchers own footprints may have had on the sight. I believe that the soviet government was doing some experimenting and ‘got to’ the sight prior to the searchers discovering it. These folks altered the sight and placed the footprints and possibly took the bodies in the tent and threw them down the ravine. Two things to keep in mind. 1-science and techolohgy were much more primative at this time & 2-the soviet authorities had absolute life and death powers over their people and could hide & alter anything they wanted so aything official should be taken with a grain of salt.
October 4th, 2011 at 16:13
their deaths were facilitated, that much is clear
although cathy has a good point that in 22 days there must have been snowfall – but this kind of detail would be immediately described in the initial investigation. a feb thaw that she suggests is exactly what would preserve footprints from wind in their refreezing come nighttime
with taking the articles facts as they are, this is along the lines of what i think could have happened
the camp was attacked from underneath!
with something coming up through the snow in the night before they were dressed. 5 of them fled in the snow through a hole in their tent (with the path to the exit obstructed) and regrouped at the pine tree site nearby where 2 ultimately remained and from where 3 died trying to return to the camp, for their supplies i presume. there was evidence of somebody having tried to climb the pine tree – assessing status of the threat they escaped together. this is the “first five” mentioned to be found with brown, tanned faces for which i offer no explanation .
the 4 remaining of the group must have been captured by the threat, the nature of their wounds suggests suggests they were tortured (the removal of dubinina’s tounge) before they were dressed with what clothes were around, and buried.
i suspect also, that a pair of officials (like ski patrol) were first to respond after hearing the screams of the party, which could carry a great distance in the mountains. they themselves or whoever they called to help must have interfered with the scene in some way.
as for the orbs, im of the opinion that phenomena like this happen when there is something interesting to be observed, see, nasa’s “smoking gun” inquisition