@@bluedeemster3259They collected Golden Root that easily can be mistaken for poisonous Sedum variants, (especially when dried). Since Goldenroot is said to increase performance it’s quite possible they ate it, or drank it as tea, while hiking, but by mistake experienced Sedum poisoning.
I have studied this incident myself some years ago. The lone survivor experienced a massively stressful experience. This kind of stress can have strange effects on recollected memory. I have personally experienced this phenomenon myself and it is a weird thing. Therefore we have to be careful with the account. It seems to me the key to this is the weather and the exposed location. The most likely is hypothermia for sure. All credit to Valentina though! Her escape from the area shows huge presence of mind and determination in a horrible situation.
Yeah, I agree. Not only was her detailed account given 23 years after the event, but it was part of a television program, so unconscious memory bias seems very likely. The simplest explanation is hypothermia (per the coroner's report and consistent with the strange behaviour just before death), with the possibility of pulmonary edema (consistent with the coroner's report of bruised lungs and Valentina's account of coughing up blood).
@@groaningupright She did give a statement to the police shortly afterwards. I don't think that this statement has been made public. This would be the most reliable account. However the recovery party and other authorities would have seen it. Whilst hypothermia/exposure is most probable I would not rule out other contributory factors. As for edema (pulmonary or cerebral) keep in mind that they were not at a very significant altitude and were descending when they were overtaken by events and had spent a night at that altitude. We will probably never know the leaders thinking when it came spending the night where they did. She must have known the risk she was taking.
@@mikesomerset6338 I think she gave a written account of events 10 days after the fact, but this was very brief. All the stuff about the blood oozing from multiple orifices, strange behaviour (Viktoriya biting Valentina), and the rapid nature of the deaths, came from her television appearance 23 years later. I agree that they did not ascend very high, but they did ascend at a rapid pace (they were ahead of schedule and Lyudmila was known for pushing people to their limits), which can bring on pulmonary edema, especially if they were fighting off extreme cold, wet conditions. But how/why did Valentina survive?
@@groaningupright By all accounts the team leader was highly capable and experienced. It seems probable to me that she would have been well aware of altitude sickness. On daylight the first action was not to get decend asap but to get get something hot into them. Maybe an indication of how she was thinking at that point in the timeline.
this is very interesting but if the water, either from LAKE BAIKAL (which is huge and very deep) and/or the streams fed by it, why weren't there dead animals all over the mountain eg: bears, elk and lynx plus seals who live in the lake
I have heard many renditions of this story. Being a scientist I always look to logic. And I used to lean to the idea that Russia purposefully use the gas on the hikers to see how it would work on physically fit people. Using them as guinea pigs. However, I must say that your final theory is very logical scientifically. Nerve gas does stay, as many gases do, close to the ground especially in wet weather. Very good video. I especially appreciate that it wasn't sensationalized. You've earned a new subscriber.
"The party of seven reached the base of the mountain range on the 2nd of August 1993." ... immediately proceeds to show a winter hiking stock video bit... "They were abruptly struck by a tremendeous rainstorm." ... while showing another snowy winter stock video bit...
Good point, but ANY explanation has to account for Valentina's survival, which is an anomaly for many of the proposed causes. I'm inclined to discount much of her memories of the event. Her detailed account occurred 20+ years after the event and was part of a television program, which might have unconsciously led to dramatization and exaggeration. The coroner's report stated hypothermia as the cause of death (which explains the strange behaviour) and bruised lungs (which is consistent with the coughing up of blood due to pulmonary edema). It was summer but it was wet, windy and unusually cold. They didn't climb very high but they did ascend the first peak rather quickly, so hypothermia and pulmonary edema are possibilities consistent with the coroner's report. But I'm left with the same question - why/how did Valentina survive?
Poison gas? I'm a new sub. I love this channel. Stories are told well and I like that theories and speculation are included along with factual evidence !
This conclusion I have to respectably disagree with. The Russian government makes many questionable decisions but testing nerve gas near a popular hiking trail? I doubt it, there are plenty of secluded areas in Russia that could be used for testing. I think the more realistic answer is they ate something toxic or possibly toxic pollution or something poisonous they foraged. If I had to pick one I would go with something toxic from the upstream garbage dump and the Russian government is just covering that up.
I guess you don't know much about Soviet and Russian government😃 Political prisoners are literally tortured by the administration of the prison. We all know that Navalny was poisoned with novichok by the Russian government, but putin thinks he's invincible and untouchable so no one got sued for poisoning the oppositionist. In Russia you might go to jail for 5-10 years for typing "stop the war against Ukraine" on the internet😊
When Valentina said her friend started hitting her head on a rock, that's doesn't make sense to me. Like, if you instantly go crazy you wouldn't find a rock then hit your head. Meaning, why wouldn't her friend just hit her head on the ground? It could be just as hard.
It could've been a nerve agent from government testing, but it also could've just been some company dumping toxic waste and chemicals in the forest illegally. That would make sense why it was so close to the trail. I remember like a decade ago some salt truck in Moscow or St. Petersburg had accidentally dumped radioactive salt all over the cities streets unknowingly. There was also a popular statue in some provincial city square that was built on radioactive rock lol. Safety and environmental regulations are very poor in Russia.
I agree the survivor taking years to say what happened is very suspicious. On another note, what exactly does “testing” ultra deadly nerve agent entail? Animals, convicts? Anything sounds brutal.
Another theory: Possible the survivor did something to them? It’s just odd how it seemed at the exact same moment they all one by one died . Then again all they had to go on was one survivors story. Who is to say her “eyewitness account” isn’t completely fabricated! Perhaps the autopsies are accurate! There are women in recent times who mass kill for pleasure or attention to themself. Also taking 3 years to remember details? I know trauma might affect people in different ways, but 3 years?
The coroner would've noted signs of battery and defensive wounds on the corpses if that was the case. You're also implying that one small girl was able to kill an entire troop by herself without any wounds and such to show for it. It's highly unlikely. And if she poisoned them, then the authorities would've just come out and said it.
@@baller84milwit’s quite possible doesn’t have to come from sheer force people sleep, you can put things in their food or water and or wait until they’re deeply asleep.
Except that there's no known plant or fungi that causes you to bleed from your eyes ears and nose. Nor do they cause you to act the way these hikers did. You going to GI distress.
I often wonder if perhaps the Russians were testing some sort of biological weapons, similar to the Japanese from unit 731. With the technology that was available at the time being inadequate, it would be easy to do.
Putting aside propaganda about ussr and russia the first thing I thought was mushrooms and since its one of the theories I think thats what most likely happened
So many people and all die, with the exception of the youngest female? That's a red flag for me. Usually the only survivor is the suspect who killed the others. If Valentina also drank the same water and ate the same food as everyone else, then she would have also died. Maybe she poisoned them all, that's why she's the only survivor.
The lesson is never go hiking in Russia.
Actually, the Soviet Union was already gone in 1993…
Video starts with "the former Soviet Union..."
It was still around when this incident happened dummy
What isn’t mentioned in the video is that the group was harvesting, and ate, herbs that may or may not have been correctly identified.
Really? If so that could be a contributing factor. Do you have sources?
@@bluedeemster3259They collected Golden Root that easily can be mistaken for poisonous Sedum variants, (especially when dried). Since Goldenroot is said to increase performance it’s quite possible they ate it, or drank it as tea, while hiking, but by mistake experienced Sedum poisoning.
@@Legionmint7091 If true, that seems the most likely what happened.
One of my favorite true crime channels. Also, one of the best narrators in the business! What can I say, I’m addicted to true crime and history.
You like this AI generated crap lol?
Is it really AI - that's so disappointing
I have studied this incident myself some years ago. The lone survivor experienced a massively stressful experience. This kind of stress can have strange effects on recollected memory. I have personally experienced this phenomenon myself and it is a weird thing. Therefore we have to be careful with the account. It seems to me the key to this is the weather and the exposed location. The most likely is hypothermia for sure. All credit to Valentina though! Her escape from the area shows huge presence of mind and determination in a horrible situation.
Yeah, I agree. Not only was her detailed account given 23 years after the event, but it was part of a television program, so unconscious memory bias seems very likely. The simplest explanation is hypothermia (per the coroner's report and consistent with the strange behaviour just before death), with the possibility of pulmonary edema (consistent with the coroner's report of bruised lungs and Valentina's account of coughing up blood).
@@groaningupright She did give a statement to the police shortly afterwards. I don't think that this statement has been made public. This would be the most reliable account. However the recovery party and other authorities would have seen it. Whilst hypothermia/exposure is most probable I would not rule out other contributory factors. As for edema (pulmonary or cerebral) keep in mind that they were not at a very significant altitude and were descending when they were overtaken by events and had spent a night at that altitude. We will probably never know the leaders thinking when it came spending the night where they did. She must have known the risk she was taking.
@@mikesomerset6338 I think she gave a written account of events 10 days after the fact, but this was very brief. All the stuff about the blood oozing from multiple orifices, strange behaviour (Viktoriya biting Valentina), and the rapid nature of the deaths, came from her television appearance 23 years later. I agree that they did not ascend very high, but they did ascend at a rapid pace (they were ahead of schedule and Lyudmila was known for pushing people to their limits), which can bring on pulmonary edema, especially if they were fighting off extreme cold, wet conditions. But how/why did Valentina survive?
@@groaningupright By all accounts the team leader was highly capable and experienced. It seems probable to me that she would have been well aware of altitude sickness. On daylight the first action was not to get decend asap but to get get something hot into them. Maybe an indication of how she was thinking at that point in the timeline.
this is very interesting but if the water, either from LAKE BAIKAL (which is huge and very deep) and/or the streams fed by it, why weren't there dead animals all over the mountain eg: bears, elk and lynx plus seals who live in the lake
I have heard many renditions of this story. Being a scientist I always look to logic. And I used to lean to the idea that Russia purposefully use the gas on the hikers to see how it would work on physically fit people. Using them as guinea pigs.
However, I must say that your final theory is very logical scientifically. Nerve gas does stay, as many gases do, close to the ground especially in wet weather. Very good video. I especially appreciate that it wasn't sensationalized. You've earned a new subscriber.
We appreciate how well you've articulated your own insights. You'll always have our support.
I definitely think that the nerve agent runoff is the most likely cause of death. Great video, thank you!
"The party of seven reached the base of the mountain range on the 2nd of August 1993." ... immediately proceeds to show a winter hiking stock video bit...
"They were abruptly struck by a tremendeous rainstorm." ... while showing another snowy winter stock video bit...
If it was a nerve agent, would the survivor not have been exposed while returning and taking supplies?
It might have been disapated by the wind, or perhaps a short acting agent. Sometimes chemical agents have varied effects on people.
Not if she worked for the KGB and was given something to counteract it
Good point, but ANY explanation has to account for Valentina's survival, which is an anomaly for many of the proposed causes. I'm inclined to discount much of her memories of the event. Her detailed account occurred 20+ years after the event and was part of a television program, which might have unconsciously led to dramatization and exaggeration. The coroner's report stated hypothermia as the cause of death (which explains the strange behaviour) and bruised lungs (which is consistent with the coughing up of blood due to pulmonary edema). It was summer but it was wet, windy and unusually cold. They didn't climb very high but they did ascend the first peak rather quickly, so hypothermia and pulmonary edema are possibilities consistent with the coroner's report. But I'm left with the same question - why/how did Valentina survive?
@@LouIchioustheWerewolf that's silly
Not necessarily but... she wouldn't have got away in the first place, right?
What an amazing story and very well told. I have clicked the subscribe button.Thank you for this.
Poison gas?
I'm a new sub. I love this channel. Stories are told well and I like that theories and speculation are included along with factual evidence !
One of the craziest stories out there
Great video from my favorite channel channel
This conclusion I have to respectably disagree with. The Russian government makes many questionable decisions but testing nerve gas near a popular hiking trail? I doubt it, there are plenty of secluded areas in Russia that could be used for testing. I think the more realistic answer is they ate something toxic or possibly toxic pollution or something poisonous they foraged. If I had to pick one I would go with something toxic from the upstream garbage dump and the Russian government is just covering that up.
I guess you don't know much about Soviet and Russian government😃
Political prisoners are literally tortured by the administration of the prison. We all know that Navalny was poisoned with novichok by the Russian government, but putin thinks he's invincible and untouchable so no one got sued for poisoning the oppositionist.
In Russia you might go to jail for 5-10 years for typing "stop the war against Ukraine" on the internet😊
I've seen videos about this case before, I've read articles. This is the best. I suspect it was toxic water that caused this.
You introduce Valentina with one girl’s photo and later use another girl’s photo when saying Valentina.
The Beehive haircut and the black and white photos made me think this happened in the 60s or early 70s
I've never heard of this case. Its fascinating
When Valentina said her friend started hitting her head on a rock, that's doesn't make sense to me. Like, if you instantly go crazy you wouldn't find a rock then hit your head. Meaning, why wouldn't her friend just hit her head on the ground? It could be just as hard.
It could've been a nerve agent from government testing, but it also could've just been some company dumping toxic waste and chemicals in the forest illegally. That would make sense why it was so close to the trail. I remember like a decade ago some salt truck in Moscow or St. Petersburg had accidentally dumped radioactive salt all over the cities streets unknowingly. There was also a popular statue in some provincial city square that was built on radioactive rock lol. Safety and environmental regulations are very poor in Russia.
I agree the survivor taking years to say what happened is very suspicious. On another note, what exactly does “testing” ultra deadly nerve agent entail? Animals, convicts? Anything sounds brutal.
She wasn’t even with them the whole time. She was running a double.
Another theory: Possible the survivor did something to them? It’s just odd how it seemed at the exact same moment they all one by one died . Then again all they had to go on was one survivors story. Who is to say her “eyewitness account” isn’t completely fabricated! Perhaps the autopsies are accurate! There are women in recent times who mass kill for pleasure or attention to themself. Also taking 3 years to remember details? I know trauma might affect people in different ways, but 3 years?
I have to agree with this
The coroner would've noted signs of battery and defensive wounds on the corpses if that was the case. You're also implying that one small girl was able to kill an entire troop by herself without any wounds and such to show for it. It's highly unlikely. And if she poisoned them, then the authorities would've just come out and said it.
@@baller84milwit’s quite possible doesn’t have to come from sheer force people sleep, you can put things in their food or water and or wait until they’re deeply asleep.
The behavior of the surviving girl after the deaths does not suggest a psychopathic murderer. It is suggestive of a frightened refugee.
We appreciate how well you've articulated your own insights on this matter. You'll always have our support.
Nerve agent
Most likely ate something that was poisonous. Maybe the 13 year didn't have an appetite for what the group was foraging
Except that there's no known plant or fungi that causes you to bleed from your eyes ears and nose. Nor do they cause you to act the way these hikers did. You going to GI distress.
I believe it was a neurotoxin or misidentified mushrooms. It was something they had consumed is what I think.
I often wonder if perhaps the Russians were testing some sort of biological weapons, similar to the Japanese from unit 731. With the technology that was available at the time being inadequate, it would be easy to do.
Really sounds like a blood agent from a NBC agent
Poison
Bad Things does it again!
Bogle Chandler?
Putting aside propaganda about ussr and russia the first thing I thought was mushrooms and since its one of the theories I think thats what most likely happened
The yeti did it
So many people and all die, with the exception of the youngest female? That's a red flag for me. Usually the only survivor is the suspect who killed the others. If Valentina also drank the same water and ate the same food as everyone else, then she would have also died. Maybe she poisoned them all, that's why she's the only survivor.
They froze to death dummy - she didn’t die because she didn’t go on the trip with them
oh my God, what a load of crap and cliche propaganda from cold war era.... wow... you hit the new low
This is a very soviet explaination of what happened, im sure it feels silly saying 'she inched herself to a rock and smashed her head" like yea right