Latest news with #TimNguyen
Sky News
15-05-2025
- Sky News
Three climbers dead after 200ft fall - while one 'miraculously' survives
Three climbers have died after they fell hundreds of feet on to jagged rock, while the survival of one man in the group is being called "miraculous". Vishnu Irigireddy, 48, Tim Nguyen, 63, Oleksander Martynenko, 36, died while climbing down a steep gully on the 7,800ft Early Winters Spire peaks in Washington state on Sunday. Their fall was likely caused by a "weathered" piton, which is a metal spike serving as an anchor used to slow the descent down a steep mountainside, tearing from the rock, the Okanogan County Sheriff's Office said. The fourth climber, Anton Tselykh, 38, from Seattle, miraculously survived, despite also plummeting 200ft on to jagged rock and tumbling another 200ft before coming to rest in a tangle of ropes and climbing equipment. He suffered internal bleeding and severe head trauma, which caused him to pass out until around 10pm, hours after the estimated time of the fall, police said. He managed to untangle himself before "crawling and feeling around in nearly pitch darkness" to find his way back to his car, Okanogan County Undersheriff David Yarnell told Sky News' US partner NBC News. Mr Tselykh drove west over the mountain range and collided with a guardrail on the way, falling unconscious, before finally reaching a pay phone to call for help. His survival "is miraculous to say the least," Mr Yarnell said. Mr Tselykh is being treated in a Seattle hospital and is in "satisfactory condition", according to a hospital spokesperson. The bodies of the three climbers have since been recovered, locating them via a GPS device in their kit. Police said the three men had suffered massive leg and cranial traumas. Authorities believe the group had been ascending the north Early Winters Spire peak when they decided to reverse course due to an approaching storm. The Early Winters Spires in the Northern Cascades consist of two 7,800ft peaks, which are popular with climbers. The route the group was taking was of moderate difficulty and sees climbers moving between ice, snow and rock, according to a local guide, who cautioned that conditions can change rapidly depending on the weather.
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Yahoo
US man travels miles for help after 400-ft fall in deadly accident
A Seattle man travelled more than 60 miles to find help after falling 400ft off a mountain in an accident that killed his three companions. Authories say the protective equipment used by the group failed on Saturday in the northern Cascade mountain range, in an area called the Early Winter Spires. Officials say the group of four mountain climbers were abseiling down a steep gully after deciding to turn back due to an incoming storm. Connected to each other by ropes, the group fell about 200ft (60m) through the air, before tumbling another 200ft over rocks, dirt and snow. The sole surviving climber is currently in hospital, where he is being treated for internal bleeding and a traumatic brain injury. The three men who died were identified by the Okanagan County Sheriff's Department on Tuesday. Vishnu Irigireddy, 48, Tim Nguyen, 63, and Oleksander Martynenko, 36, were all from the Seattle area, according to the sheriff. The survivor, who was identified as a 38-year-old man from Seattle, hiked out and drove west across the mountains about 60 miles until he found a payphone to call for help. Undersheriff Dave Yarnell told Climbing magazine that the man may have been unfamiliar with the area. The town of Mazama is only about 15 miles to the east of the mountain. "He took the long route," Yarnell said on Monday. "He spent at least an hour or more driving over the Cascade mountain range." "He didn't realize he had as significant of internal injuries as he did," he said, adding that the man initially refused medical attention for himself. The three bodies of his fellow climbers had to be recovered by helicopter, due to the rough terrain. A preliminary investigation found that a piece of protective gear called a piton was still attached to their rope, indicating that it probably ripped out of the rock wall, causing the fall. "The presumed cause of the accident is an anchor failure while rappelling [abseiling]," the sheriff's office said.
BBC News
14-05-2025
- BBC News
US man travels miles for help after 400-ft fall in Washington
A Seattle man travelled more than 60 miles to find help after falling 400ft off a mountain in an accident that killed his three say the group's equipment failed on Saturday in the northern Cascade mountain range, in an area called the Early Winter Spires. Officials say the group of four mountain climbers were abseiling down a steep gully after deciding to turn back due to an incoming to each other by ropes, the group fell about 200ft (60m) through the air, before tumbling another 200ft over rocks, dirt and sole surviving climber is currently in hospital, where he is being treated for internal bleeding and a traumatic brain injury. The three men who died were identified by the Okanagan County Sheriff's Department on Irigireddy, 48, Tim Nguyen, 63, and Oleksander Martynenko, 36, were all from the Seattle area, according to the sheriff. The survivor, who was identified as a 38-year-old man from Seattle, hiked out and drove west across the mountains about 60 miles until he found a payphone to call for help. Undersheriff Dave Yarnell told Climbing magazine that the man may have been unfamiliar with the area. The town of Mazama is only about 15 miles to the east of the mountain. "He took the long route," Yarnell said on Monday. "He spent at least an hour or more driving over the Cascade mountain range.""He didn't realize he had as significant of internal injuries as he did," he said, adding that the man initially refused medical attention for three bodies of his fellow climbers had to be recovered by helicopter, due to the rough terrain.A preliminary investigation found that a piece of protective gear called a piton was still attached to their rope, indicating that it probably ripped out of the rock wall, causing the fall. "The presumed cause of the accident is an anchor failure while rappelling [abseiling]," the sheriff's office said.
Asharq Al-Awsat
14-05-2025
- General
- Asharq Al-Awsat
3 Climbers Fell 400 Feet to their Death. One climber Survived and Drove to Pay Phone
A rock climber who fell hundreds of feet descending a steep gully in Washington's North Cascades mountains survived the fall that killed his three companions, hiked to his car in the dark and then drove to a pay phone to call for help, authorities said Tuesday. The surviving climber, Anton Tselykh, 38, extricated himself from a tangle of ropes, helmets and other equipment after the fall Saturday evening. Despite suffering internal bleeding and head trauma, Tselykh eventually, over at least a dozen hours, made the trek to the pay phone, Okanogan County Undersheriff Dave Yarnell said, according to The Associated Press. The climbers who were killed were Vishnu Irigireddy, 48, Tim Nguyen, 63, Oleksander Martynenko, 36, Okanogan County Coroner Dave Rodriguez said. Authorities haven't yet been able to interview the survivor, who is in a Seattle hospital, said Rodriguez, so much is still unknown of the fall and Tselykh's journey. Falls like this leading to three deaths are extremely rare, said Cristina Woodworth, who leads the sheriff's search and rescue team. Seven years ago, two climbers were killed in a fall on El Capitan at Yosemite National Park in California. The group of four were scaling the Early Winters Spires, jagged peaks split by a cleft that is popular with climbers in the North Cascade Range, about 160 miles (257 kilometers) northeast of Seattle. Tselykh was hospitalized in Seattle. The group of four met with disaster that night when the anchor used to secure their ropes was torn from the rock while they were descending, Rodriguez said. The anchor they were using, a metal spike called a piton, appeared to have been placed there by past climbers, he said. They plummeted for about 200 feet (60 meters) into a slanted gulch and then tumbled another 200 feet before coming to rest, Yarnell said. Authorities believe the group had been ascending but turned around when they saw a storm approaching. A three-person search and rescue team reached the site of the fall Sunday, Woodworth said. The team used coordinates from a device the climbers had been carrying, which had been shared by a friend of the men. Once they found the site, they called in a helicopter to remove the bodies one at a time because of the rough terrain, Woodworth said. On Monday, responders poured over the recovered equipment trying to decipher what caused the fall, Woodworth said. They found a piton — basically a small metal spike that is driven into rock cracks or ice and used as anchors by climbers — that was still clipped into the climbers' ropes. 'There's no other reason it would be hooked onto the rope unless it pulled out of the rock,' said Rodriguez, the coroner, noting that pitons are typically stuck fast in the rock. Rodriguez added that when rappelling, all four men would not have be hanging from the one piton at the same time, but taking turns moving down the mountain. Pitons are oftentimes left in walls. They can be there for years or even decades, and they may become less secure over time. 'It looked old and weathered, and the rest of their equipment looked newer, so we are making the assumption that it was an old piton,' Woodworth said. Rock climbers secure themselves by ropes to anchors, such as pitons or other climbing equipment. The ropes are intended to arrest their fall if they should slip, and typically climbers use backup anchors, said Joshua Cole, a guide and co-owner of North Cascades Mountain Guides, who has been climbing in the area for about 20 years. Generally, it would be unusual to rappel off a single piton, said Cole, adding that it is still unknown exactly what happened on the wall that night. 'We eventually, if possible, would like to get more information from surviving party,' Woodworth said. The spires are a popular climbing spot. The route the climbers were taking, said Cole, was of moderate difficulty, and requires moving between ice, snow and rock. But the conditions, the amount of ice versus rock for example, can change rapidly with the weather, he said, even week to week or day to day, changing the route's risks.
CBS News
14-05-2025
- CBS News
Dramatic details emerge after climber survives 400-foot fall that killed 3 friends in Washington state
A rock climber who fell hundreds of feet descending a steep gully in Washington's North Cascades mountains survived the fall that killed his three companions, hiked to his car in the dark and then drove to a pay phone to call for help, authorities said Tuesday. The surviving climber, Anton Tselykh, 38, extricated himself from a tangle of ropes, helmets and other equipment after the fall Saturday evening. Despite suffering internal bleeding and head trauma, Tselykh eventually, over at least a dozen hours, made the trek to the pay phone, Okanogan County Undersheriff Dave Yarnell said. The climbers who were killed were Vishnu Irigireddy, 48, Tim Nguyen, 63, Oleksander Martynenko, 36, Okanogan County Coroner Dave Rodriguez said. Irigireddy and Nguyen were from Renton and Martynenko was from Bellevue, officials said. Tselykh was listed in satisfactory condition at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, CBS affiliate KIRO-TV reported Tuesday. Authorities haven't yet been able to interview the him, Rodriguez said, so much is still unknown of the fall and his journey. The Okanogan County Search and Rescue team responds to a climbing accident in the North Cascades mountains in Washington on Sunday, May 11, 2025. Okanogan County Sheriff's Office via AP Falls like this leading to three deaths are extremely rare, said Cristina Woodworth, who leads the sheriff's search and rescue team. Seven years ago, two climbers were killed in a fall on El Capitan at Yosemite National Park in California. The group of four were scaling the Early Winters Spires, jagged peaks split by a cleft that is popular with climbers in the North Cascade Range, about 160 miles northeast of Seattle. The group of four met with disaster that night when the anchor used to secure their ropes was torn from the rock while they were descending, Rodriguez said. The anchor they were using, a metal spike called a piton, appeared to have been placed there by past climbers, he said. They plummeted for about 200 feet into a slanted gulch and then tumbled another 200 feet before coming to rest, Yarnell said. Authorities believe the group had been ascending but turned around when they saw a storm approaching. A three-person search and rescue team reached the site of the fall Sunday, Woodworth said. The team used coordinates from a device the climbers had been carrying, which had been shared by a friend of the men. Once they found the site, they called in a helicopter to remove the bodies one at a time because of the rough terrain, Woodworth said. The helicopter's flight through 16 miles of rugged, mountainous terrain took longer than usual — about an hour — because of harsh weather, KIRO-TV reported. Video of the aerial recovery shared by KIRO showed the helicopter navigating blustery winds and fog as it made its way toward the climbers. Okanogan County Sheriff's Office On Monday, responders poured over the recovered equipment trying to decipher what caused the fall, Woodworth said. They found a piton - basically a small metal spike that is driven into rock cracks or ice and used as anchors by climbers - that was still clipped into the climbers' ropes. "There's no other reason it would be hooked onto the rope unless it pulled out of the rock," said Rodriguez, the coroner, noting that pitons are typically stuck fast in the rock. Rodriguez added that when rappelling, all four men would not have be hanging from the one piton at the same time, but taking turns moving down the mountain. Pitons are oftentimes left in walls. They can be there for years or even decades, and they may become less secure over time. "It looked old and weathered, and the rest of their equipment looked newer, so we are making the assumption that it was an old piton," Woodworth said. Rock climbers secure themselves by ropes to anchors, such as pitons or other climbing equipment. The ropes are intended to arrest their fall if they should slip, and typically climbers use backup anchors, said Joshua Cole, a guide and co-owner of North Cascades Mountain Guides, who has been climbing in the area for about 20 years. Generally, it would be unusual to rappel off a single piton, said Cole, adding that it is still unknown exactly what happened on the wall that night. "We eventually, if possible, would like to get more information from surviving party," Woodworth said. The spires are a popular climbing spot. The route the climbers were taking, said Cole, was of moderate difficulty, and requires moving between ice, snow and rock. But the conditions, the amount of ice versus rock for example, can change rapidly with the weather, he said, even week to week or day to day, changing the route's risks. Woodworth told KIRO-TV that it's important that climbers are "not taking any of your equipment for granted and just always staying aware of your surroundings."
