At least 12 people died in an avalanche in Kabardino-Balkaria

The avalanche came down on the evening of September 6 on a group of climbers in the area of the Mizhirgi slope in the Bezengi Gorge. Today rescuers found the body of another person, and the death toll rose to at least 12; initially, 11 victims were reported, and some Telegram channels wrote about 13.

Six more people were injured and hospitalized. Ten climbers were able to descend the slope on their own, and the whereabouts of the five others are still unknown.

The Telegram channels Shot and Baza wrote that among the dead were fighters from the Vityaz special-purpose center of the National Guard. The National Guard denied this and said that among the dead were indeed servicemen from the agency, but not from Vityaz.

One of the dead was St. Petersburg climber Albert Izotov. According to Alexander Yakovenko, a member of the Russian Mountaineering Federation, he was in Kabardino-Balkaria as an instructor for one of the security agencies.

The avalanche hit a tent camp and a training site. The Mizhirgi slope belongs to route category 5B — one of the most difficult for professional climbers.

Sources

• Important Stories