A heavy avalanche in Kyrgyzstan's northern Issyk-Kul region has killed a contractor for the Kumtor gold mine.
The gold-mining company’s press service said on September 30 that another contractor was also injured by the avalanche.
The two men went missing on September 29 after the avalanche hit the Sary-Moinok pass in the mountains.
The contractors and four other colleagues were returning to their base 30 kilometers from the Kumtor gold mine after checking some of the company’s outlying facilities.
Rescue teams found the two missing men on September 30, but one was dead and the other injured.
Kumtor is Kyrgyzstan's largest gold mine.
The Kumtor Gold Company is a subsidiary of Canada's Centerra Gold company, which has been operating the mine since the 1990s.
The Sary-Moinok passage is more than 3,000 meters high.
Based on reporting by KyrTAG and 24.kg