Overview
- An avalanche swept down Mount Mizhirgi in the Bezengi Gorge on Sunday and struck a 33-person climbing party, leaving at least 13 people dead and several others injured.
- Rescuers deployed roughly 50–56 emergency workers and helicopter support but have been hampered by steep, glaciated terrain and a high risk of secondary slides.
- Video footage and on-site reports indicate the slide was likely triggered by the collapse of a hanging glacier or unstable ice high above the route.
- The Investigative Committee and the regional prosecutor’s office have opened criminal negligence inquiries, and Russia’s National Guard confirmed some servicemen were among the dead while denying claims about a specific elite unit.
- The Bezengi Gorge is a heavily glaciated, technical high-altitude region where hanging glaciers and seracs pose acute hazards to climbers, and the incident could prompt tighter scrutiny of guided expeditions and rescue protocols.