Ten people, including nine Britons, have been reported to have survived after a major avalanche swept over the Tian Shan Mountains in Kyrgyzstan.
The images posted on Instagram by Harry Shimmin, one of the people on the trekking route, showed that the snow was starting to break a mountain in the distance, before sweeping towards them and forcing the group to protect themselves while the snow it passed over them.
Shimmin had broken away from the guided tour group to take pictures when he heard “the sound of the deep ice breaking behind me,” according to an account he posted alongside the video.
He added: “I had already been there for a few minutes, so I knew there was a place to take refuge next to me.
“I left it at the last second to move, and yes, I know it would have been safer to move to the shelter right away. I’m very aware that I took a big risk. I felt controlled, but anyway, when the snow started to come and it got dark / harder to breathe, I was sinking it and I thought I might die. “
The Tian Shan Mountains are mainly straddling southeastern Kyrgyzstan and its northeastern border with China. They were part of the ancient Silk Road trade route from the Middle East and Asia to the west.
Shimmin said he knew the rest of his group was further away, so he would be safe, and wrote that he felt “marginalized” when he realized he was only covered in light dust “without scratches.” They had to walk the path of the avalanche shortly after.
“We would only have heard the roar before the lights went out,” he said.
Other members of the group – which also included an American – suffered a knee cut, while one fell from a horse.
Shimmin added: “The whole group was laughing and crying, happy to be alive (including the girl who cut her knee). Only later did we realize how lucky we had been. If we had walked five more minutes in our walk, we would all be dead. “