Igor Dyatlov's group could have died due to hallucinogenic substances, the use of which caused uncontrollable panic among tourists. This version was put forward by a prospecting specialist Vadim Brusnitsin and indirectly confirmed by toxicologist Alexander Ediger.
As Brusnitsyn explained, the main confirmation of his theory is the cut tent - it was only possible under special circumstances to decide to damage the only shelter. According to the expert, the Dyatlovites ate a certain drug and, under its influence, lost their minds. Presumably, while still at Vizhay station, tourists could buy bread from local residents, which included a certain poisonous mushroom or a mixture of hallucinogenic mushrooms.
“Tourists could brew tea by adding a little more mixture than necessary. And after a few hours the synchronous effect worked. A severe toxic reaction to the central nervous system could have occurred, leading to powerful hallucinosis, to completely uncontrollable behavior. Sharp excitement plus unexpected muscle strength, due to which they went down in a blizzard and severe cold half-naked, - comments on the version of toxicologist Ediger.
The expert emphasized that all Dyatlovites could have absolutely the same distortion of reality, since hallucinogens have the concept of an "effective dose", when a substance works the same for any person, regardless of physical parameters. “A hallucinogen is capable of turning a person into a monster. When an imaginary monstrous world begins to exist around him, he is capable of anything. This has been proven by various experiments. Therefore, tourists could injure each other,”the toxicologist notes.
Ediger added that some logical actions of tourists (in particular, an attempt to make a fire) absolutely do not contradict his theory. “Under the influence of hallucinogens, instinctive logic works. Instincts are not suppressed, but, on the contrary, are sharpened,”the expert concluded.
Nine tourists, led by Igor Dyatlov, died on the night of February 2, 1959 on the slope of Mount Kholatchakhl ("Mountain of the Dead") in the Northern Urals. On February 25, a search group found an abandoned tent, and then five tourists who remained were found under the snow only two months later. The exact cause of the tragedy has not yet been established.
Sergey Makeev