Manxies survive Avalanche in Kyrgyzstan mountains

Three Manxies have lived to tell the tale after an avalanche struck while hiking in the Tian Shan mountains in Kyrgyzstan.

School friends Harry Shimmin, Katie Christian and Sarah Allen were on a 10 day hiking expedition when the avalanche hit at the summit of the Juku Pass.

Harry had broken away from the guided tour to take photographs when he heard 'the sound of deep ice cracking behind him' and managed to find shelter behind a boulder.

Sarah says prior to their arrival, guides had warned about the uncharacteristic weather this year in Kyrgyzstan, suspected to be down to global warming.

Harry even managed to capture the entire avalanche on film - with his footage going viral - featuring on the likes of the Guardian, Good Morning Britain and ITV.

In a post on Instagram, Harry says he was 'bricking it and thought he might die'.

Meanwhile,  Sarah and Katie say they could hear the rumbling of the approaching avalanche, and saw it 'only at the last minute' as it blasted over them.

The duo managed to scramble up off the path and to safety behind a boulder.

The group came out of the incident relatively unscathed - apart from one woman who had cut her knee quite badly.

Sarah says if the group had continued only five minutes down the path - they would have been dead - with the bridge to cross the river completely destroyed and the path ahead 'metres deep in ice boulders and debris'.

She adds only then it hit the group how lucky they had been to survive and they were 'laughing and crying', as no serious injuries were sustained, they 'can all look back on this as a once in a lifetime moment.'

You can view the full video here.

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Harry Shimmin (@harryshimmin)