Avalanche kills 13 during Russian National Guard mountaineering exercise in Kabardino-Balkaria
An avalanche in Kabardino-Balkaria's Bezengi Gorge struck a 33-person group during a mountaineering exercise with Russian National Guard personnel, killing 13, including an instructor, and leaving five missing, according to reports.
On Sunday evening, September 6, an avalanche swept through the Bezengi Gorge in the southern Russian republic of Kabardino-Balkaria, hitting a team of 33 climbers that had come for training. Citing unnamed sources, the business daily Kommersant reported that the group was composed largely of personnel from several Russian National Guard units, with representatives of other security agencies also taking part.
The Telegram channels Baza and Shot reported that 13 people died in the avalanche, including 12 servicemen from the Vityaz Special Purpose Center — a special forces unit of the Russian National Guard. According to these sources, the Vityaz members were practicing under the guidance of Albert Izotov, a mountaineering instructor from St. Petersburg. Alexander Yakovenko, who heads the mountaineering committee of the Russian Mountaineering Federation, told journalists that Izotov was among those killed.
The Russian National Guard later disputed earlier reports that Vityaz personnel had died, calling them inaccurate. However, the agency confirmed that some of the climbers killed in the avalanche belonged to the National Guard. A statement from the National Guard noted that its annual training program encompasses theoretical and practical instruction in mountaineering, rock climbing, navigation, equipment use, and safe climbing techniques.
Kommersant reported that 13 bodies had been recovered, among them the instructor, while five people remained missing and ten required medical assistance.
