Climbers from Belarus and Lithuania went missing in the mountains of Kyrgyzstan. The bodies of two of them were found.
Rescuers have found the bodies of two members of a group of climbers who went missing in Kyrgyzstan, and the search for the third climber continues.
The bodies of two climbers from a group previously missing, including Belarusian and Lithuanian citizens, have been found in the mountains of Kyrgyzstan. The search for the third member is ongoing, said Alexander Smirnov, who is leading the rescue operation organized by the families of the missing climbers.
Earlier, on August 16, information appeared on a website created to coordinate the search about the possible discovery of the bodies of the missing climbers from Belarus and Lithuania in drone images. However, the Ministry of Emergency Situations later clarified that the bodies had not been found, only personal belongings.
"Today, August 24, a new stage of the operation began on Kurumdy this morning – the descent. A helicopter delivered a team of five climbers to the glacier at an altitude of 4,300 meters. Rescuers set up camp and began work. By evening, the bodies of two members of the group were discovered. Efforts to lower them have begun. The search for the third is ongoing," Smirnov wrote.
He also noted that throughout the past week, the search team had been searching for climbers prepared to undertake such a challenging task, negotiating the provision of a helicopter, gathering the necessary equipment, and organizing logistics.
The group of climbers, consisting of two Belarusians—43-year-old Maxim Polyansky and 60-year-old Nikolai Sviridov—and 37-year-old Lithuanian Sergei Rubtsov, lost contact on August 4 after climbing the 6,612.5-meter-high Kurumdy (Koromdu) peak.
Climbing this peak is classified as highly difficult and requires significant physical and technical preparation. The first successful ascent of Kurumdy took place only in 2001, after several unsuccessful attempts.
Relatives of the missing have organized a fundraiser and are providing daily updates on the progress of the search and rescue efforts on a dedicated website. The search is significantly complicated by adverse weather conditions. On August 16, rescuers reported the probable discovery of bodies.