'To fly at 6,000 meters is self-destruction' — pilot comments on rescue of Kazakh alpinists in Kyrgyzstan

AKIPRESS.COM - To climb up higher than 6,000 meters for rescue of the Kazakh alpinists in Kyrgyzstan is impossible for helicopters of Kazakhstan, pilot Stalbek Alymkulov said, Tengrinews.kz reports. According to him, rescuers are risking their life by going for search.
"It is a very difficult landscape. There are some glaciers: Khan Tengri, and the Victory Peak in front of it. The height isalmost 7,500 meters. Alpinists normally climb up through the Zvezdochka glacier. There is a base camp at the height of 4,200 meters. Where they (missing alpinists) are now is unknown. It is th end of a season, camps will close in late August," Alymkulov noted.
According to him, rescuers themselves can die during search operations due to the constant avalanches and oxygen deficit.
These guys were trapped there because there have been terrible weather conditions for a week, he said.
"There were buried by snow. Alpinists told me that there are many bodies there. I think rescuers will not be able to bring the bodies of dead alpinists. It is very difficult. They themselves will hardly come down and carrying the bodies will be very difficult. They probably will leave the bodies there. This is a normal rule of alpinists," the pilot noted.
"To fly to 6,000 meters is self-destruction," he added.
The Kazakh Mountaineering and Climbing Federation and the Federation of Climbing in Almaty pitifully reported that there are no chances to find the alpinists alive.