MYAGDI, Oct 14: The bodies of five climbers who lost their lives during the ascent of Dhaulagiri Mountain have not been retrieved even after a week.
There have been difficulties in retrieving and transporting the bodies of five Russian climbers who were found dead at an altitude of 7,100 meters. Deputy Superintendent of Police Bharat Shrestha at the District Police Office, Myagdi, stated that efforts to bring the bodies down from Dhaulagiri Mountain have not been successful due to adverse weather conditions and challenging terrain.
The bodies of five climbers were found in an area where neither a helicopter can land nor can anyone reach on foot," he said. "Due to bad weather conditions and the challenging terrain, efforts to recover and bring the bodies from the incident site have not been successful.
Bodies of Russian climbers brought to Kathmandu (Photo Feature)
"On Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, the helicopter sent to retrieve the bodies returned without success. On Saturday, it couldn't go due to Dashain, and on Sunday, fog on the mountain prevented the helicopter from flying," said DSP Bharat Shrestha.
Shrestha added that the trekking company involved has said that a rescue team will be sent by helicopter on Monday if the weather conditions improve.
After staying at the base camp, the climbers who had set out to ascend Dhaulagiri lost contact from an altitude of 7,600 meters on October 7 at around 11 AM.
According to the police, the bodies of Russian nationals Alexander Dusheyko, Oleg Kurgulov, Chistikov Vladimir, Nosenko Mikhail, and Shpilevoz Dmitri were found on October 9 in the afternoon.
Through 'I Am Trekking and Expedition,' a group of 14 Russian male climbers had gone for the Dhaulagiri mountain expedition. Nine climbers had canceled their ascent midway and returned.
The world's seventh-highest peak, Dhaulagiri (8,167 meters), is located in Dhaulagiri Rural Municipality-4 of Myagdi. According to the Department of Tourism, only 14 Russians had taken permits to climb Dhaulagiri during the current autumn season.
