Two Polish mountaineers who fell into a crevice in the Elbrus district are feared dead

Friday, December 13, 2019

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Two Polish mountaineers who fell into a crevice in the Elbrus district are feared dead, Kabardin-Balkar rescuers said. "Marta Rugalskaja, 28, from Warsaw and Miroslaw Sawickij, 30, from the town of Sokolow-Podlaski, died in an ice crevice on the Ushba mountain," according to head of the territorial rescue team of the Russian Emergency Situations Ministry Boris Tilov. "A huge chunk of ice collapsed on the place of their whereabouts in the upper part of the Ushba glacier at an altitude of 4,000 meters, burying the crevice which became the deadly trap for the mountaineers," Tilov told Itar-Tass on Friday. His group of 15 rescuers suspended the search and went to a base camp in the village of Terskol. "Rockfalls and ice fields movements are posing a real danger, the rescuers were lucky to escape a rockfall," he noted. The storm watch warning will keep throughout Saturday. After the thunderstorm a decision will be made on whether or not to continue the rescue operation. Four Polish mountain climbers fell into a crevice in the upper part of the Ushba glacier on August 17. Two of them, Martin Szkjarczik and Krzysztof Borkowskij, managed to get out from a 20-meter-deep ice trap, but were unable to bail out their friends and descended to seek help. A search and rescue team arrived at the crevice area on Thursday evening. More than 50 people have disappeared on the rugged and treacherous Ushba glacier in the recent years

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