Horrific deaths of nine students during Siberian ski trip in 1959 once blamed on ‘aliens and yetis’ were caused by an AVALANCHE, study suggests
- In 1959 a manhunt was launched to find nine hikers who had not returned from a trek in the Ural Mountains
- Their bodies were found half-naked and mutilated – fuelling conspiracy theories that blamed yetis and aliens
- Researchers created new computer models and 3D scans to understand the conditions surround the event
- They found the group of nine hikers were likely forced out of their tent by an unusual ‘slab avalanche’
- This was caused by rare heavy winds pushing snow down the hill, the unusual layout of the land and a cut the group of hikers had made in the ground to protect themselves from the fierce winds
By Ryan Morrison For Mailonline
An avalanche caused the horrific deaths of nine students during a Siberian ski trip in 1959 – not aliens and yetis as some once believed, a new study claims. The discovery of their half-naked and mutilated bodies over 60 years ago fuelled bizarre conspiracy theories, from the paranormal to secret weapons testing. Scientists from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL) created computer models to prove their theory that an unusual type of avalanche caused their deaths.
The team showed that the ‘mystery of Dyatlov Pass’ in the Ural Mountains that saw the nine experienced hikers killed – was down to a cut in the snow made by the group as they set up camp. They had flattened a small section of the surface to form a ‘shoulder’ or ridge in the slope – believing it would shield them from the worst of the fierce winds. A combination of other factors – including the unusual terrain and strong, icy winds – then triggered the ‘slab avalanche’ that chased the team out of their tent where they froze to death in -13F (-25C) temperatures.
