In Kyrgyzstan, items of missing Belarusian climbers found at an altitude of 4500 meters
"Separate items are lying nearby, presumably from the same backpack," — wrote on his Facebook page Alexander Smirnov, a friend of the guys who is comprehensively covering the rescue operation.
"Equipment was found at an altitude of 4500 meters. They worked [yesterday] all day. Before lunch, it was sunny, then clouds appeared, and in the evening it rained. They managed to complete two helicopter flights and many drone flights.
They inspected the slopes up to an altitude of 6000 meters. The quality of the footage is worse than desired: there's a strong gusty wind at the top, making it impossible to get close.
On the western side of the ridge, at an altitude of about 4500 meters, below the ridge, they spotted a backpack and an orange item — a sleeping bag or a jacket; it's not yet possible to say more precisely from the video.
Separate items are lying nearby, presumably from the same backpack. It appears to be the equipment of one person from the group. Neither the guys nor their tracks are visible around or on the ridge.
We are not drawing conclusions. For now, the picture is this: the items were most likely lost during the descent. If a rope team had fallen on this section, the equipment of the others would have been lying nearby. It's not there. Where the backpack fell from still needs to be determined. According to the terrain, it could have come from above — from a steep section higher than the first camp, from an altitude of 5100-5300 meters.
This section is one of the most challenging on the ridge. Rocks and ice, there's almost nothing to secure oneself to. Even in good weather, something is constantly falling there, and below, under avalanche debris, there are large crevasses. That's why we work with a helicopter and a drone, instead of sending people there.
In the evening, rain halted the search. Now, everything recorded by the drone and helicopter is being processed. A separate group — climbers, volunteers, and friends of the guys — is reviewing the footage. They are watching frame by frame along with computer vision, which highlights anything unusual on the slope. Some of today's findings were discovered precisely this way. Thanks to everyone who responded yesterday and watched the video — it works.
Tomorrow morning [i.e., today — NN], if the weather permits, the drone will photograph this entire section in high resolution: from the ridge to where the items are located. We need to understand the trajectory of the fall and decide where to search next.
Helicopters and drones cost money; every flight hour counts.
"We publish official information about the search on kurumdy.by. If something appears in the media or social networks with a reference to unnamed sources, and we don't have it, then it's not verified," — wrote Alexander Smirnov.
Three experienced tourists — two from Belarus and one from Lithuania — went missing in the mountains of Kyrgyzstan after ascending Peak Kurumdy. On August 1st at 10:30 AM, they reached the summit. They were ascending the northern ridge. On August 2nd, they reported that they would be ready for departure on August 4th. There was no further contact. The driver arrived at the agreed-upon location on August 4th and 5th, but the group did not emerge. Their search has been ongoing for several days.
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