The Dyatlov Pass Incident by Umar Malek

 The Dyatlov Pass Incident

It was a cold day. Ten hikers went on a winter expedition. One came back. What really happened to the nine hikers?

On January 23, 1959, ten hikers went for a trek through the Ural Mountains led by Igor Dyatlov. He invited his fellow students from the same university where he studied. All of them were in their early twenties, except for one, who was in his late thirties. They were all skilled hikers. 

After five days, one of the hikers, Yuri Yudin, headed back home due to pain in his lower back and leg. Nine days in, the rest of them pitched their tent for the last time. The hikers had planned to send a message to their sports club three weeks after starting, but when the club didn’t hear from them, they sent a search party on February 20th.

When the search party located their tent, it was crumpled and shrouded with snow. But the hikers' possessions were tidily organized. Food was on a plate, suggesting the hikers were preparing for a meal. The tent was sliced open, and it was later found that the cut was from the inside. The search party found two bodies, Yuri Doroshenko and Yuri Krivonishchenko, particularly distant from the tent. They were both partially clothed, near a burnt-out fire. During the autopsy, Krivonishchenko’s body was found to have flesh in his mouth, which came from his hand. All signs point to the fact that he bit off flesh from his own hand.

Later, two more bodies were found: Dyatlov and Zinaida Kolmogorova. Their bodies were found in a different location from the other two bodies. After a while, they also found Rustem Slobodin’s body. All three of their bodies looked like they were trying to head back to the tent.

Just based on these five bodies, the indications pointed toward hypothermia. This would explain why they were partially dressed, since when someone experiences hypothermia, the body uses its last amount of heat to warm the body, giving the victim a false sense of warmth. But there were still four bodies missing.

After the snow in that area melted, a hunter discovered an abandoned snow den in May. Rescue workers found the remains of the rest of the bodies inside: Aleksander Kolevatov, Nikolay Thibeaux-Brignolle, sports instructor Semyon Zolotaryov, and Lyudmila Dubinina. None of their bodies had telltale signs of hypothermia, except for Kolevatov’s body.

Brignolle had a severe skull fracture, and Zolotaryov and Dubinina had crushed chests. Also, both of Dubinina's eye sockets were empty, while Dubinina was also missing her tongue. The investigation concluded that the cause of death was a “compelling natural force.”

There are three theories on what happened. One: They died from a nuclear weapons testing accident. Two: They died from radiation stemming from a previous nuclear incident. Three: There was an avalanche.

The first two theories come from the fact that there were traces of radiation on some of the hikers’ clothes. In the first theory, people thought that the Soviet Union was testing nuclear weapons and something went wrong, but the other two theories are more compelling. 

The second theory is prominent because two years before, there was a nuclear accident. One of the hikers lived in the toxic area, while the other helped with the cleanup. This radiation exposure could have caused their deaths. 

The third reason is the most popular one. Andrei Kuryakov theorized that an avalanche caused their deaths. First, there was a small amount of snow that hit their tent. They tore open their tent and, thinking that there was an impending avalanche, they ran off and created a snow den. Then the den collapsed, which would explain the crushed chests and skull fracture. Then animals ate their eyes, and one of their tongues. The hikers who weren’t in the tent simply died from hypothermia.

But these are all theories. No one knows what really happened to the nine hikers to this day. Was this a nuclear accident, or maybe, just maybe, is there an underlying fact being forgotten?

Little, Becky. “The Dyatlov Pass Incident: Why the Hiker Deaths Remain a Mystery | HISTORY.” HISTORY, 31 Jan. 2024, www.history.com/articles/dyatlov-pass-incident-soviet-hiker-death-mystery.