About how the search is going, the mountaineers’ friends and relatives organizing it publish daily updates on a special website.
Read more Benedikto Vanago hopes burned in the flame: «HunGarian Baja» canceled
On August 12, for the first time during the entire rescue operation, a helicopter managed to take off. The helicopter flew from Bishkek – a city in the northern part of Kyrgyzstan – to the mountaineers’ route location nearly 300 km away, promising much. Unfortunately, as stated on the search organization page, it was not possible to ascend above 5500 meters due to fog: “Visibility was completely absent. The section between camps 2 and 3, the most important to us, remained uninspected again.”
The footage that was filmed was handed over to the rescue operation organizers and will be carefully reviewed.
During the “air windows,” a drone also took off, inspecting the glacier from both sides, the mountaineers’ descent route to camps 1 and 2, and slopes up to 5250 meters were filmed.
“During one flight along a ridge branch, the drone ascended to 5730, but everything was in clouds and the recording came out gray. Above the first camp, the drone saw ropes hanging on a rocky branch. We immediately checked this: the guys had two ropes, the main one was red, but in the recording, the rope is dark, bluish. Viktoras Kucko, who prepared the route with the group, says they would not have left the main ropes. Most likely, these are old ropes left from others,” the search participants report.
It was only possible to conduct aerial searches during the first half of Wednesday – in the second half of the day, it rained heavily again, making flying impossible, and in the evening even the first camp was no longer visible.
Last message – descending from the summit
15min.lt already reported that a group of three mountaineers arrived in Kyrgyzstan on July 20. After obtaining permits to enter the border zone, they reached the start of the route in the Kyzylsu river valley. Communication during the expedition was difficult – their satellite phone did not work, so contact was only possible sporadically. Because of this, the messages sent from the group did not contain exact coordinates.
On August 1, all three mountaineers reached the Kurumdy summit via the northern ridge, rising to about 6613–6614 meters. The last message from them was received on August 2. It was planned that on the morning of August 4, the group would reach the agreed location where transport awaited them, but the mountaineers did not appear.
To the Lithuanian media, S. Rubcov’s brother Arturas said that the last contact with the missing Lithuanian was recorded at about 6,000 meters altitude, with the group already descending from the mountain.
Search involves rescuers, volunteers, and drones
An active Kyrgyzstan rescue service operation in the mountains has been ongoing since August 7. The search involves rescuers from the Kyrgyz Ministry of Emergency Situations, border guards, volunteers, mountain experts, and family members and friends of the missing mountaineers.
Read more The fourth day of the European Swimming Championship: Rapšys and Teterevkova will appear
On August 8, a mountaineers’ tent was found at the base camp, but no people were inside. During one search phase, five rescuers ascended to about 5 kilometers altitude; five border service employees and two volunteer guides from Switzerland also contributed to the operation.
Later, a more powerful drone was involved. On August 11, using short periods of better visibility, six flights were made with it. The snow and ice ridge and its slopes from about 4000 to 4800 meters altitude were inspected, as well as a mountain branch up to about 5550 meters. No traces of the missing were found. The territory above was hidden by clouds.
Particular attention is given to the difficult route section between the second and third camps. There are steep slopes covered with snow and ice, which are very difficult to check thoroughly. According to the search organizers, some of the drone-collected material has been handed over for analysis, and a team from Lithuania using computer vision technologies is also involved in its evaluation.
Who are the missing mountaineers?
Among the three missing men is Lithuanian citizen Sergejus Rubcovas from Vilnius. Along with him climbed two experienced Belarusian mountaineers – 43-year-old Maksim Polianski and 60-year-old Nikolai Sviridov.
M. Polianski is described as a very experienced mountaineer. It is reported that he has climbed all five mountains over 7000 meters in the former Soviet Union, including the very difficult Victory Peak and also the Revolution Peak in the Pamirs.
The fact that the group consisted of experienced people gives hope to relatives and search participants, but each day spent in the mountains increases anxiety.
Fresh snow complicates the search
One of the biggest obstacles for rescuers is the weather. In the search area, it rains and snows heavily at times, the upper part of the mountain is covered by clouds, so drones cannot always reach the most important zones. Fresh snow also covers tracks and items that could show the direction the mountaineers took.
The situation is further complicated by the lack of exact last known coordinates of the group. Only the planned descent direction is known. Therefore, in the vast, technically difficult highland area, rescuers have to check possible routes and analyze aerial images.
Public support has also been gathered for the search operation. On August 12, it was announced that about 70,000 euros had already been raised for the search. Funds are needed for the helicopter, high-altitude rescuers, transport, drone equipment, and communication devices.
Read more One myth about pork is still alive: dietitian Vaida Kurpienė urges not to believe it anymore
You can contribute here.
