The Ministry of Emergency Situations reported the satisfactory condition of tourists in distress in the Altai mountains

The condition of four tourists in distress on the top of Ak-Kem in the Altai Republic is satisfactory, the main department of the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations for the region reported on August 13.

The tourists had no injuries or frostbite. At the same time, they have a small supply of food to hold out until rescuers arrive, Interfax reports with reference to the department’s press center.

The helicopter of the Krasnoyarsk Aviation Rescue Center is waiting for the weather to improve in order to fly from Gorno-Altaisk airport to help tourists in trouble, the Ministry of Emergency Situations added. “It will take rescuers two hours to get from Gorno-Altaisk to the tourists’ location,” the press center noted.

The helicopter can land on Mount Belukha at an altitude of 3,300 meters, tourists are a thousand meters higher, a representative of the regional Ministry of Emergency Situations clarified to RIA Novosti .

As reported, on August 12, an SOS signal came from the Ust-Koksinsky district of the Altai Republic, where a tourist group of four people was stuck on the Ak-Kem mountain peak at a height of 4.1 thousand meters. Strong winds blew away the tent and climbing equipment. The group cannot descend from the top on its own. Tourists have built a temporary shelter from snow and scrap materials and contact rescuers every three hours.

Ak-Kem is one of the peaks of the Belukha mountain range, the highest in the Altai Mountains, famous for difficult mountaineering routes. At the same time, the Ministry of Emergency Situations noted that experienced tourists who are ready for extreme situations and know how to behave in the mountains are blocked at the top. “They climbed a category 5A route - a traverse of the three peaks of Belukha: Eastern Belukha, Western Belukha and Korona,” the department said. “This is a difficult route that requires good preparation.”

According to the Ministry of Emergency Situations, the journey on foot to the group, even in favorable weather, will take rescuers at least three days, but at present such an ascent is completely impossible, since the rock is icy, and in the Ak-Kem area there is a strong wind of up to 20 m/s with wet snow.