Yesterday, two died during an unauthorized climb of 2,173m Vilyuchinsky volcano, in Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula.
According to Russian media, three unregistered climbers were ascending the stratovolcano when two of them — a man and a woman — fell down a steep slope and sustained severe injuries. The man was dead at the scene, while the woman died from her injuries during the descent.
Rescuers reached the third member, a woman, higher up the slope and lowered her on a stretcher to medics. She was unharmed but exhausted and hypothermic. Her condition is reported as moderately severe.
Sergey Lebedev, the Kamchatka Region’s Minister of Emergency Situations, noted the challenging conditions — including icy slopes, strong winds, and steep terrain — that complicated the rescue operation. Teams used Mi-8 helicopters and ground units to reach the victims at around 1,500m elevation.
Vilyuchinsky’s last eruption occurred around 10,000 years ago, and it has shown no recent activity. The volcano lies about 50km south of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Kamchatka’s regional capital, and its icy slopes pose significant risks, particularly in early October.
As the tourist group was not registered and the climbing route has been officially closed since July 1, an investigation is underway into the unauthorized climb.
