Snowmobile Expedition Vanishes in Russia’s Perm Region

Photo: t.me/vladislav_kuznecov is licensed under public domain

Snowmobiles

A group of 13 tourists who set out on a snowmobile expedition to Mount Oslyanka in Russia has gone missing, according to reports from E1. The incident occurred in the Perm Region, where the travelers lost contact with the outside world amid difficult weather conditions.

On December 13, residents of Yekaterinburg and Verkhnyaya Pyshma traveled to the summit of Mount Oslyanka, the highest point in the Perm Region, using snowmobiles. Communication with the group was lost at approximately 4:00 p.m., after which none of the participants responded to calls or messages.

Search and Rescue Operation Underway

The wife of one of the missing tourists suggested that the group may have lost their way. According to her, visibility near the mountain’s base was poor on the day of the incident. The volunteer search-and-rescue organization LizaAlert confirmed that a rescue operation had been launched in cooperation with Russia’s Emergency Situations Ministry.

Search teams believe the tourists may have sought shelter from severe weather in the abandoned village of Bolshaya Oslyanka, where several houses with intact roofs remain standing.

Possible Scenarios and Search Conditions

The group may have become stuck in an unfrozen swamp, causing them to lose communication. A separate rescue team was dispatched to investigate that area. In total, around 70 people are involved in the operation.

Emergency services are using drones to assist with the search, while rescuers travel by snowmobile due to the challenging terrain. The search area covers approximately 63 square kilometers, most of it dense forest. Poor visibility and ongoing snowfall continue to complicate efforts.

Mobile Signal Traced Near River

Rescuers later managed to determine the possible location of the missing group by tracking mobile phone signals. Preliminary data places their last known position near the Sukhaya River, where emergency responders were immediately dispatched.

According to Mash, the tourists were well-prepared for the journey. They reportedly carried sufficient supplies of food, water, and fuel for their snowmobiles, and their equipment was appropriate for winter conditions, increasing their chances of surviving freezing temperatures.

First Such Incident on Mount Oslyanka

Half of the participants were amateur travelers, while the rest were experienced tourists. Shortly after beginning their ascent, the group stopped communicating entirely. Local sources report that this is the first known case of tourists going missing in the Mount Oslyanka area.