The Khamar Daban Incident: Another Dyatlov Pass?
The lonely hillside where the Khamar Daban incident occurred. Photo: Morbid Kuriosity
In 1993, seven hikers were trekking near Lake Baikal in Siberia when they were suddenly overcome with horrific symptoms. Blood streamed from their eyes and noses, they clutched at their throats and bashed their heads against rock. Was this strange incident connected to the deaths at Dyatlov Pass several decades earlier?
The Hikers of the Khamar Daban Incident
The hikers of the Khamar Daban incident.
Lyudmila Korovina, a 41-year-old expert survivalist and hiking instructor, was highly respected among her colleagues and students. She was know as a master of survival craft.
Although she was known to be tough on her pupils and pushed them to their limits, she was widely recognized as an excellent teacher who taught vital hiking skills.
In the summer of 1993, Lyudmila planned a hike to the Khamar Daban Mountain range with six of her best students. Being familiar with the area, which was a popular tourist spot and regarded as a safe hiking destination, Lyudmila had thoroughly prepared for the trip.
The six students were 23-year-old Aleksander (Sacha) Krysin, Timur Bapanov (15), Viktoriya Zalesova (16), Valentina (Valya) Utochenko (17), Tatyana Filipenko (24), and Denis Shvachkin (19).
What Happened at Khamar Daban?
Arriving at the mountain range in Murino village on August 2, 1993, The Seven were excited to commence their trek over the Alps, buoyed by the promise of clear, sunny skies as per the weather forecast.
Lyudmila's daughter, Natalia, led one of three trekking groups in the region, and their paths were scheduled to cross on August 5th. The six pupils were enthusiastic to prove themselves as capable hikers during the trip, having bonded over months of preparation and anticipation.
The first two days of the hike proceeded more smoothly than expected, with the group pushing themselves to climb the Retranslyator summit quickly.
On August 4, as they began their descent, the weather forecast proved to be inaccurate, and the group encountered heavy rains.
Due to the added weight of their damp supplies, each hiker's trek was slowed down, and despite the availability of nearby tree cover, Lyudmila hastily chose to set up camp in an open area due to the group's exhaustion.
That night, the group was unable to start a fire, but they remained in high spirits. The next morning, they managed to build a campfire and shared breakfast before departing for the day. Eager to meet Natalia's group, whom they expected to surprise given their rapid ascent up the mountain the previous day.
Later that day, Natalia and her group reached the designated meeting point, but Lyudmila and her students were nowhere to be found. Natalia, however, was not worried and presumed that her mother had been delayed by the inclement weather. Unfortunately, the reality was far more sinister.
On August 10th, a group of kayakers who were paddling down the river at the base of the Khamar Daban mountains noticed something in the tree line. A lone girl was standing there, staring at them. When the kayakers approached the girl they realised she was covered in dreid blood. As they approached her, she broke down in tears and attempted to tell them her story.
Valentina Utochenko eventually revealed her identity to the kayakers and claimed that she had been hiking with a group of six other people.
Frightened, the kayakers took Valya to the local police station and filed a report. It took several days for her to recount the events of what had happened to the others, and even then, it was a confusing and horrifying tale.
According to Valya, after the group had breakfast, they began their descent down the mountain, but a calamity struck shortly after. Sacha, who was at the back of the group, began screaming. When everyone turned to look at him, he was foaming at the mouth and bleeding from his eyes and ears. He fell to the ground, convulsing before becoming still. Lyudmila ran to his aid and instructed the others to continue on and find help.
Lyudmila was deeply distressed and desperately tried to revive Sacha, but she too began exhibiting the same symptoms as him. The rest of the group had not gone far before they heard Lyudmila's screams and quickly returned to help.
They found Lyudmila bleeding from her eyes and nose while foaming at the mouth and shaking uncontrollably.
Tatyana, the first to reach Lyudmila, also began to exhibit symptoms and began grabbing her throat as if she were struggling to breathe. She then made her way to a nearby rock and struck her head against it repeatedly until she lost consciousness.
Denis took cover behind a rock while Timur and Viktoriya ran away. Valya was left motionless after witnessing her three closest friends die in a matter of minutes.
Viktoriya and Timur collapsed while running and died in a similar way, tearing their clothes, coughing up blood, and clawing at their throats. Valya and Denis ran away from the area but soon after, Denis collapsed as well.
In a state of panic, Valya fled, leaving her friends behind with only a tent and the clothes on her back. She rushed down the mountain to put as much distance as possible between herself and whatever was harming her friends.
Valya set up camp for the night under sufficient tree cover and fell asleep. Valya spent four days following the power lines down the mountain, hoping for someone to find her. Eventually, she stumbled upon a river and decided to follow it. On the fourth day of her journey, the kayakers found and rescued her.
Even though a report was filed with the police, no formal search was conducted until August 24. It took the helicopters two days to locate the bodies because Valentina had not yet been able to provide her account of events.
The autopsy report revealed that all of the hikers, except for Lyudmila who suffered a heart attack, died from hypothermia. Additionally, they were found to have bruised lungs, but it was determined that the cause of death was a protein deficiency resulting from starvation and extreme hypothermia. It was concluded that their deaths were accidental.
What Could Have Caused the Incident at Khamar Daban?
Chemical Weapons
According to many researchers, the symptoms reported by Valya are indicative of dying from chemical weapons, specifically nerve agents, as convulsions and mouth foaming are common symptoms of a potent nerve toxin.
The autopsy findings align with this theory since lung bruising is a common sign of death by nerve gas, which can cause breathing difficulties. Furthermore, nerve agents can trigger cardiac arrest, which corresponds to Lyudmila’s cause of death.
Although the other hikers’ cause of death may have been hypothermia, they could have been rendered unconscious or fallen into a coma due to nerve toxin exposure, leading to hypothermia as the eventual cause of death.
It’s possible that the hikers may have ingested poisonous substances through their water, which could have been contaminated due to toxic waste disposal in Lake Baikal situated above the mountains.
The hikers' meal might have been laced with lethal chemicals if the waste was carried downstream into the water. It is also possible that the toxic chemicals fell during the heavy rain.
Valentina, however, could have survived by consuming less water or finding an alternate source. The other hikers may have succumbed to the poisonous substances because most potent toxins take a few minutes to act.
Toxic Mushrooms
This theory is particularly intriguing because it addresses concerns about Valya's seemingly different reaction compared to the other six hikers. It is the only scenario known to have impacted Valya similarly to the others, shedding light on her unusual behavior.
Lyudmila was a skilled forager who taught her companions the craft. It is possible that one of the hikers mistakenly picked a toxic mushroom for breakfast, leading to poisoning that manifested once they started walking for the day, causing hallucinations and sickness.
Curiously, psilocybin, a chemical found in Magic Mushrooms, can cause individuals to hallucinate seeing others cry blood. Whether the hikers were experiencing severe hallucinations or comatose, they likely succumbed to hypothermia due to their altered state.
Similarities Between Khamar Daban and Dyatlov Pass
The Dyatlov Pass incident is a mysterious event that occurred in February 1959, where nine experienced hikers from the Ural Polytechnic Institute in Russia died in strange circumstances while hiking in the northern Ural Mountains.
The group's tent was found torn from the inside, and the hikers' bodies were found in various stages of undress, some with fatal injuries, including skull fractures and chest trauma, but with no visible signs of a struggle.
The cause of their deaths is still unknown, and various theories suggest possible causes such as an avalanche, infrasound, military involvement, or even extraterrestrial activity. The case remains unsolved and has become a subject of fascination for many.
Is it a coincidence that two groups of hikers died in similar circumstances in areas under Russian control?
What do you think was the cause of the Khamar Daban incident? Let us know in the comments.
If you enjoyed learning about the Khamar Daban incident you might also be interested in the disappearance of Vladimir Bastl or the strange deaths of the Yuba County Five.
