2 different events

[amashilu]

It seems that different groups of hikers died by different means. Therefore, there could have been at least 2 different events that resulted in their deaths.

Is there evidence for an explosion, as in Nagaev's theory of a bursting radiosonde, with chemical/radiation being expelled? That is, what would human bodies look like which had been close to such an explosion? Are the following "typical" injuries from an explosion?

• Luda's and Semyon's flail chests
• Oddly discolored skin on exposed body parts, such as faces
• Light-balls in the sky?
• Eyeballs popped out?
• Radiation on clothes

[tenne]

If this was a death by external man made means, then I think we also need to factor in the fact that we never know exactly what weapons are available to be used. Given only 9 people were killed by it, it could be far more in the range of a suitcase weapon that we don't know anything about.  Much like the long used in spy novels umbrella killing that was just used to kill  .

"The poison-tipped umbrella: the death of Georgi Markov in 1978 - archive
The Bulgarian dissident died after being jabbed by an assailant on Waterloo Bridge. Like the recently poisoned Russian dissident Alexei Navalny, he was an acute irritant to his government. See how the Guardian reported events"

[GlennM]

And then there is the whole issue of proximity.

[Manti]

Radiosondes don't explode. The balloon, which is filled with a light gas, can burst but it's like a ballon popping. The sonde (probe) then drops to the ground. If it manages to hit someone, that could be ugly..... but these are usually quite small and in any case can't hit four people simultaneously. Maybe some radiosondes are powered by radioactive decay generators, although the "radio" part comes from the fact they relay signals via radio to the ground. Such RPGs (radioactive power generators) sometimes use isotopes that are mostly Beta emitters, there was an incident where one fell in the Andes in Chile, I believe. The quantity of the isotope is usually quite small and well-enclosed but if the enclosure breaks on impact, it can leak out. Still, the radiation probably isn't enough to cause even one death let alone any explosion.


If there was an explosion, I think it wasn't a radiosonde.

[amashilu]

Manti,

Okay, well, um, gosh, that is really tangential to the question I am posing here, but I apologize for abbreviating the full explanation; here is the amplified theory behind an explosion caused by a military test with radiosondes:

Vladimir Nagaev's theory:
 The Dyatlov group died while participating in a scientific experiment of national importance. They were launching special-purpose radio probes in an unpopulated area. Under the chloroprene shell of the balloon was a gas with short-lived radioactive isotopes - five-sulphur phosphorus. Meteorological rockets are known to have been used in the region of Mt. Otorten. At some point a missile must have hit one or more radiosondes and spilled the radioactive content.
After a certain time, some highly toxic chemicals (sulphur compounds for example) that enter a living organism are oxidized and quickly disappear from the body. It is proved that the process of oxidation of hydrogen sulphide in the blood occurs very quickly. About 99% of the hydrogen sulphide is gone from the body within 3-5 minutes. A toxic chemical element can be detected in the blood only if the rate of hydrogen sulphide intake equals or exceeds the oxidation rate. The final oxidation products that remain after death, such as sulphates, quickly decompose and cease to exist. A coroner may not detect the toxic chemical. However, traces of its effects remain in the organs of the corpse, for example, pulmonary edema, expansion of the borders of the heart, mainly the right half, fullness of organs, liquid dark blood. The Dyatlov group had signs of damage to internal organs by toxic chemicals, including organophosphorus compounds: pulmonary edema, changes in the borders of the heart (mainly the right half), plethora of organs, liquid dark blood.
Remember the sincere reaction of the criminal prosecutor Ivanov about the death mechanism of the Dyatlov group: "It was as if an air balloon had burst." As a result of the integrity of the shell of the balloon, radioactive gas (five-sulphur phosphorus) was in the environment with a radius of the affected zone of not more than 6 meters (20 ft). Under conditions of high humidity (snow mist), as well as ionization of the environment caused by radiation, began the formation of highly toxic sulphur dioxide gases, including hydrogen sulphide.
Search for the missing group was deliberately delayed. First bodies of the Dyatlov group were discovered almost a month after their death. This period corresponds to two half-lives of the radioactive isotope phosphorus-32. In favor of this theory is the skin of the dead reported by many witnesses to be of a dark brown color which is characteristic for phosphorus poisoning.