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The head of the Sverdlovsk Region’s Directorate for Monitoring the Implementation of Federal Laws Andrei Kuryakov discusses the investigation of the deadly incident involving the Dyatlov Pass in 1959 in 2019.
Donate Sorokin TASS via Getty Images
A group of tourists have disappeared in the Russian mountains near the infamous site where nine students died in mysterious circumstances more than six decades ago.
The eight hikers from Moscow never returned on Wednesday after going to Dyatlov pass in the Urals, Newsweek reported, citing Russian media.
They were due to leave at 8 this morning. But they have not returned and there is no contact with them, ”a local resident told the local E1 media outlet.
The tourists had traveled to the area to pay their respects to the victims who died there in February 1959, the resident told the outlet.
Russia had attributed the mysterious deaths of the nine students to an avalanche and poor visibility.
But their gruesome injuries, including skull fractures and broken ribs, led to conspiracy theories that ranged from an attack by animals to an attack by aliens.
In 2019, Russia reopened the investigation in an attempt to put speculation to rest.
Andrey Kuryakov, deputy chief of the regional prosecutor’s office, said the latest investigation confirmed that the group was hit by an avalanche and then froze to death.
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