The Dyatlov Pass Incident

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On January 25, 1959, 23 year old Igor Dyatlov and nine others set off on a skiing and hiking expedition in the norther Ural Mountains in the Soviet Union. Two days in, one of the hikers left the expedition due to health issues. Before leaving, Dyatlov was told to send a telegram once he had returned to the town of Vizhai, which was supposed to happen by February 12. When the 12th of February came and went, there was no immediate panic, as it was common for telegrams to be delayed during the time. However, by February 20th, the hikers' families were demanding for a search party to be sent, with police and the Soviet army becoming involved as well. Searchers eventually found the group's tent. It was mangled and had been cut open from the inside. Footprints made by shoeless feet were found. At the bottom of a slope, two group members were found dead. Three more, including Dyatlov, were found dead. They barely clothed and it seemed as if they were headed back to their campsite. In May, the other four were found dead near a ravine. Three of the four had fatal internal injuries that were so severe that they were comparable to injuries sustained in a bad car crash. Besides soft tissue damage from being submerged in water, there were no external injuries, causing confusion among investigators. Six members died of Hypothermia, while three died of severe internal injuries that are unexplained. The official cause of the incident is an avalanche, but many believe it was something else. Many in the area on the night of the incident reported seeing large orange spheres floating and falling from the sky. The Soviet government silenced those claims.