The Bizarre Mystery of the Khamar Daban Deaths

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“I would feel more obligated to sign an NDA from a yeti than the government” Holy shit I felt that statement.

Now if I had a nickel for every time a group of hikers died in the Siberian wilderness under mysterious circumstances, I would have 2 nickels, which isn’t a lot but it’s still weird that it happened twice.

Being killed by something you can't even see is beyond terrifying.

Valentina's account is nearly lovecraftian in how horrifying and unexplainable it is. Imagine just having a normal hiking trip and then all hell breaks loose around you and people start bleeding out of their faces and convulsing and smashing their own skulls against rocks. Has got to be one of the most horrifying experiences someone can go through, not just because of the circumstances of the deaths, but how inexplicable it is. Some kind of unseen unknowable force just making everyone around you melt from the inside.

Valentina’s testimony honestly reads like a Creepypasta… that sounds absolutely horrific, I can’t even imagine how broken her mind must’ve been after experiencing that

The thought of using your last bit of consciousness and life to bite your friend because you have no other way to make them flee the danger is heartbreaking

Wanted to highlight that Lyudmila told her students to retreat away from the clearing instead of rushing to Alexander's aid in that moment. Incredible advice and she gave it immediately as she ran to try and save him. That's heroism to me

I love how bizarre and horrific hiker deaths always get a yeti theory, like the yeti has these weird, violent superpowers lmao

"I would sooner sign an NDA from a Yeti than the Government" Absolutely 100% this

I'd love to hear your take on Alferd Packer: The Colorado Cannibal. He took a group of gold prospectors during the gold rush era through the Rocky Mountains from Utah to Colorado when they became snowed in. In the spring, Mr Packer waltzes into town too healthy, plump, and... wealthy to have barely survived the winter in the frozen rockies. The remains of his companions were found cannibalized after a search for the missing men was mounted. I don't want to spoil too much, but it's totally a story that fits in with the theme of this channel. Congrats on 1 million subs, btw!

I like the idea that Tatyana realized she breathed in something fatal and chose to bite Valentina to make her back away and be in a safe area instead of where the possible fatal gas was. It does make sense in a way.

The interactions between each victim sound a lot like physiological responses to V-type nerve agents, to me. The choking, the spasming, the vomiting - something that can be interpreted as blood but might just be simple emesis - the overproduction of tears to the point of burst capillaries, on top of the speed in which the symptoms manifested - it sounds a lot like VX, or V-derived nerve agents. It might even be something custom that was released in the area, leaked from a hidden storage, or absorbed into the local ecosystem. It seems the most likely to me, given the area's history as a military dark zone. It's fucked up no matter what it was.

I don't blame Valentina for not retelling this story for decades... And when she first told her parents and had a mental breakdown. Im sure anyone who had this happen to them would react the same.

I totally believe that whole thing with the nerve agents. Makes sense why they'd just write it all off as hypothermia. I can't imagine the horror in the moment--seeing people you love bleed in unspeakable ways. I can't imagine the trauma.

The first thing I thought of while watching this is a different case where a girl lost her whole family in a matter of minutes. Her father went to their root cellar (much like a basement) to get potatoes and didn't return. Then mom went down to check on him. Then her aunt, etc. I think 5 in total. It turned out some potatoes or other roots went bad, creating a layer of gas on the floor. So all someone had to do was bend down in the cellar and they were dead. Just seems like how things would go if an invisible pocket of gas were near some people. Morbid thought but, the first person that even has a chance of getting away is the third that could die. It would take one person falling, then another falling when rushing to their side. Then the third person would have to figure out that gas took the other two people out, otherwise they'll rush to help. It's like it's almost guaranteed to kill 2 or more people. Just fucking awful, you can't win.

This reminds me of the incident in South Africa where multiple hundreds of people have died next to lakes after large rainstorms when carbon monoxide deposits at the bottom of the lakes has exploded out and cause carbon monoxide poisoning. I would it be curious if something similar was happening. Anything from a mineral deposit inside of a cave? Or even a fungal bloom that could have just rolled out?

This story has always fascinated me. Valentina's story is terrifying, but that one thing that has always gotten to me most is the part about following the power lines only to find an abandoned village. The thought of having already survived so much and thinking you've found salvation, only for it to be empty buildings is heartbreaking. She was such a strong girl to keep pushing forward.

EMT here, can confirm that while there's a ton of reasons pulmonary edema could occur, toxic gas inhalation is one of those things. Nerve agents have been known to cause hemorrhaging but we didn't really go over WMDs a ton in school so I can't really comment on the pathophysiology of that, but toxic gas inhalation can absolutely cause pulmonary edema, usually from inflammation of lung tissue and sometimes by causing a pump issue in the left side of the heart.

My guess would’ve been nerve gas. Im an emt and in the military and have been over scenarios almost exactly like this. The rain can carry the gas or even be the chemical agent. Then after everyone’s been affected by the nerve agent, their parasympathetic systems go haywire. This leads to the bleeding, frothing from the mouth, convulsions, and then dropping one by one.