But Nigel - your argument against a fall is mine against being crushed by a tracked vehicle - no internal injuries? No damage to spleen? No damage to limbs? From a tracked vehicle running over 3 human bodies with a few metres of snow to take most of the force?? Its like the vehicle picked and chose areas of the body to crush and which to leave perfectly intact.
And I know you're going to say the force was not applied equally because of the snow layer, how they were lying, the fact that the surface area of their exposed bodies was smaller than the tracks (I don't really know how to explain this concept in my head but it has to do with positions of bodies and points of contact as the tracks rolled over the bodies - obviously not going to be uniform) BUT I actually think your ball lightning theory is more plausible.
Anyway was going thru the autopsy reports and found this:
Nikolai:
"In the area of the right shoulder on the anterior-internal surface - a spilled bruise 10x12 cm greenish-blue in color at the middle and lower third. In the area of bruising hemorrhages in the underlying soft tissue."
Kolevatov:
"In the region of the left knee joint, on the inner surface, diffuse hemorrhage into the underlying tissues."
Dubinina:
"On the outer and anterior surface of the left thigh, in the middle third, the diffuse bruise is cyanotic-lilac in a 10 x 5 cm section with a hemorrhage into the thickness of the skin.
In places of fracture of the ribs there are diffuse hemorrhages in the intercostal muscles.
In the area of the sternum hand on the right a diffuse hemorrhage."
Semyon:
"After the extraction of the organocomplex from the thoracic and abdominal cavity, the II, III, IV, Y, YI ribs on the right are determined along the okologo-ore and mid-axillary line with hemorrhage into the adjacent intercostal muscles."
I mean its not much, but it proves that the bodies were not WITHOUT bruising (hemorrhaging), riiiiight? This gives ammunition to the fall and shock wave theories - although, I'm sure Star Man would say they are not significant enough for the shock wave theory.