Search for mountain climbers missing in Kyrghyzstan suspended for 2 days

Search for the mountain climbers who disappeared after an avalanche on the Khan-Tengri peak will be suspended for two days due to adverse weather conditions, Emil Akmatov, press secretary of Kyrgyzstan's Environment and Emergencies Ministry, told RIA Novosti.

A gale warning was announced in the mountainous areas of Kyrgyzstan's Issyk-Kul region for August 9-10, according to the republic's hydro-meteoroligical service.

"It is sleeting at the site and the wind is so strong that it is impossible to install a communication antenna," added Mr. Akmatov

The body of one climber was found on August 9. Russian Mikhail Nedoboiko and Czech national Ales Merna, both 39, were found alive, according to the press secretary.

The Russian climber suffered a closed traumatic brain injury while his Czech mate received brain concussion and multiple fracture, reports Almakun Dosmanbetov, chief of intensive care at the Issyk-Kul regional hospital. None of them remember what happened to them and how they were transported to the hospital.

On August 7, Mr. Nedoboiko was taken to Alma Ata, Kazakhstan, as the mount to the Khan-Tengri Peak had been arranged for him by a Kazakh-based tourist company.

A total of 11 athletes were buried by the avalanche, according to Mr. Akmatov. Six of them were reported dead, two are alive, while the other three climbers' destiny is unclear thus far.

Russia's Emergencies Ministry reported on 14 mountain climbers buried by the avalanche in Kyrgyzstan.

The climbers disappeared between the Khan-Tengri and Chapayev Peaks at an altitude of over 6,000 meters on August 5.

Fourteen Russian Emergencies Ministry rescuers, their colleagues from Kyrgyzstan, 12 members of the republic's Federation of Mountain and Rock Climbers, and Mountain Tourism are taking part in the search effort, according to Mr. Akmatov. A helicopter of Kyrgyzstan's rescue service is stationing on the scene.

A Federation official told RIA Novosti that there were no chances of finding the missing climbers alive. Those covered by an avalanche have to be retrieved half an hour later, otherwise the chance of finding them alive will be 10%, according to him.