Nanda Devi Plutonium Mission
UNESCO World Heritage Site-Nanda Devi is the second highest peak in India, it is 25,643 feet above sea level.
On October 16, 1964, China conducted its first nuclear bomb test at Lop Nor in Xinjiang province.(Project 596)This test shocked all countries. Especially countries like the United States began to feel threatened by China. The United States was afraid that China would start a war on any new front in the ongoing war with the United States and Vietnam. And intelligence agencies became active to keep a close eye on China's nuclear sites. For this, they took the help of China's neighboring country India and observed it without China noticing. India was defeated by China in the 1962 war, which also created a threat to India from China. That is why the US CIA and India's intelligence agency IB took joint action. The intention behind this was to develop a system to monitor China from the area near the India-China border and install it in the surrounding areas. For this, the CIA and IB (Intelligence Bureau) chose the Nanda Devi peak in the Himalayan range, which is the natural border between India and China. But due to the high altitude, valleys and snow-covered areas, climbing the mountain and reaching the peak was very difficult and dangerous. And the planning of this operation began.
During a cocktail party held in Washington D.C., a photographer associated with National Geography named Barry Bishop met with the head of the American Air Force, Curtis LeMay. In American defense history, Curtis LeMay holds an important position as he led the bombing of Japan during World War II. The two discussed the nuclear tests conducted by China.
During a cocktail party held in Washington D.C., a photographer associated with National Geography named Barry Bishop met with the head of the American Air Force, Curtis LeMay. In American defense history, Curtis LeMay holds an important position as he led the bombing of Japan during World War II. The two discussed the nuclear tests conducted by China.
Curtis LeMay:
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For this, they chose the Nanda Devi mountain in the Himalayan range and the second highest in India. Its height is 25,645 feet. For this, they developed a system to install altra-sensitive spying device. The device weighed about 56 kilograms, had an 8-10 feet high antenna, two transceiver sets, a plutonium-powered radioisotope thermoelectric generator(RTG) and its seven plutonium capsules (The half-life of plutonium-238 in this is 88 years). So powerful that its thermal output was half that of the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima. For this expedition, the leader of the Indian mountaineering team was Captain M.S. Kohli (who led India's successful 1965 Everest expedition), H.C.S. Rawat - a member of the 1965 Everest team, G.S. Bhangu - a mountaineer and officer, part of the mountaineering team, Sonam Gyatso - a famous Sherpa who scaled Everest in 1965, Phu Dorji Sherpa, Pasang Dawa Lama. About fourteen other Sherpas were recruited. Many were 'later absorbed into Indian paramilitary organizations'. But not all their names were made public. Also on the mountain were American climbers and scientists Barry Bishop (Bishop himself was not part of the team on the mountain), Lute Gerstad, Barry Prather, Barry Corbett and Dave Dingman, the other three were Tom Frost, Robert Schaller and Sandy Bill (nuclear expert, intelligence officer, signals expert and communicator). The climbers from India and the US who wanted to do the expedition gathered at Mount McKinley in Alaska, USA (Mount McKinley is the highest peak in North America) where the climbers were trained in difficult conditions.
Captain M.S. Kohli:
The weather on the mountain was stable in the month of October. The climbing team and scientists started climbing the mountain. The team did not face much difficulty in reaching the fourth camp from the base camp. But after reaching the fourth camp (24,000 feet), a sudden snowstorm began and soon became widespread. The team was facing difficulties in reaching their target in this storm. Due to zero visibility, bone-chilling cold, lack of oxygen and highly sensitive equipment, they had to find a way out as soon as possible to avoid the mission being in danger. Thus, they decided to take shelter at the altitude of 24,000 feet at Camp 4 and protect the equipment. Seeing a large shelter rock crevice, the equipment was temporarily tied to a large rope under the snow. The team decided to temporarily stop the mission and turn back. As soon as the storm conditions normalized, the team would climb the mountain again, retrieve the equipment and start the next climb again.
In May 1966, the team started climbing the mountain again. The atmosphere on the mountain was clean and clear. Due to the terrible storm and continuous snowfall, a large sheet of snow had spread on the mountain. Due to that, the climbing route had also changed. Deep crevices had formed in some places and mountains of snow had formed in others. The team reached Camp 4 by making its way through all this. But the team was shocked to see the scene there. The equipment where the equipment was tied and kept safe was no longer there. The team also removed a few feet of snow around but they found nothing except a broken rope. There was no sign of the equipment there. They searched wherever possible but were disappointed. Now a mission begins with full preparation. Which was a dangerous and mysterious mission during the cold war. An advance team of CIA and IB goes on a search mission. In this, along with the climber, nuclear physicists, sonar experts, radioactive scan experts, neutron detectors are equipped with various equipment. The team searches for the device in every valley, mountain ridge, and snow for a whole week. But they do not find its location.
later, an American team of mountaineers was also recruited to recover the device. one of the members of the team, Dave Dingman said that they had scanned the area of Nanda Devi with neutron detectors but no evidence of plutonium was found. the team concluded that the device and its capsules were carried downhill by a landslide. From this, only one conclusion was drawn, perhaps this device was buried in an Avalanche or lost in the glacier. In this, Dave Dingman proposes a theory that perhaps the Indian intelligence service secretly captured this device during the snowstorm without the knowledge of the Americans. Dave Dingman says that when he approached Camp 4 in 1966, some unusual but fresh signs were found there. Such as some pieces of new rope, the remains of burnt dry wood, and vague footprints. The CIA never officially acknowledged this theory in its internal reports. However, it was mentioned in some US media reports and Hugh Thomson's book Nanda Devi - A Journey to the Last Sanctuary in 1978. Thomson writes that the CIA suspected that India had captured the device and was reverse engineering it. But the CIA had no evidence or confirmation of this.
Meanwhile, in 1968, the mission site was changed and a new device was successfully installed on the 22,510 ft high Nanda Kot mountain near Nanda Devi.
In all this, the mystery of the nuclear device lost in the Himalayas still remains. Which is still operational and buried in the glacier and may be generating heat, and it may also become radioactive when mixed with the water flowing from the glacier. If this is the case, the Ganges and its tributaries may be contaminated and affect millions of people. These rivers and their water are used for drinking and agriculture. Everything that comes in contact with water can be affected.
This matter was kept secret by the Indian government. Finally, in 1978, the Indian Prime Minister Morarji desai revealed in Parliament that a nuclear device was lost during a secret Nanda Devi mission and it has not been found yet. This one sentence silenced the Parliament for some time. This device was searched for from time to time but it is still missing.
In 2018, state tourism and irrigation minister satpal maharaj had raised the issue of the radioactive device polluting the snow trickling down from the nandadevi range into the ganga and had urged PM Modi to take urgent action in the matter. on tuesday, maharaj told TOI that after Sunday's natural disaster, the necessity of the device's retrieval is even more important. On February 7, 2021, a massive flood suddenly hit Chamoli district. The disaster left over 200 killed or missing 83 bodies and 36 human body parts out of a total of 204 people missing have been recovered so far. of the missing and dead, 140 were workers at the tapovan hydropower plant site.
The entire country was considering it a glacial lake outburst flood at that time, but discussions were going on in the village situated at the foot of Nanda Devi. The machine which was lost on Nanda Devi mountain in 1965, perhaps due to the large amount of heat emanating from it, the glacier melted and this flood occurred during the cold days.
But, the villagers say that how can a glacier melt in the cold days? The plutonium device can definitely be the reason behind this. Research has found that there is no radioactive material in the water. scientist say that this is a natural disaster, there is no radiation behind it. The only concern among the people is the Ganga river and its riverbed and basin. The water of this river comes from this glacier. Suppose if contamination starts, then everything that comes in contact with the Ganga river from Uttarakhand can be polluted. Mainly, parts of Nepal, Bihar, West Bengal, Bangladesh can be affected more.
According to a 37-year study by IIT Kanpur and Uttarakhand Space Applications Centre, it is estimated that about 26 sq. km of glaciers in the Nanda Devi area have disappeared from 1980 to 2017. Scientists say this is a result of climate change. And the Indian government is periodically testing the water of the Nanda Devi glacier and the Ganga river.
The CIA report is still classified. Some Indian and American officials associated with this mission speculate that Indian intelligence may have seized the plutonium and used it in nuclear research, or reverse-engineered the device.
We are trying to provide you with information that is publicly available from the government.
In May 1966, the team started climbing the mountain again. The atmosphere on the mountain was clean and clear. Due to the terrible storm and continuous snowfall, a large sheet of snow had spread on the mountain. Due to that, the climbing route had also changed. Deep crevices had formed in some places and mountains of snow had formed in others. The team reached Camp 4 by making its way through all this. But the team was shocked to see the scene there. The equipment where the equipment was tied and kept safe was no longer there. The team also removed a few feet of snow around but they found nothing except a broken rope. There was no sign of the equipment there. They searched wherever possible but were disappointed. Now a mission begins with full preparation. Which was a dangerous and mysterious mission during the cold war. An advance team of CIA and IB goes on a search mission. In this, along with the climber, nuclear physicists, sonar experts, radioactive scan experts, neutron detectors are equipped with various equipment. The team searches for the device in every valley, mountain ridge, and snow for a whole week. But they do not find its location.
later, an American team of mountaineers was also recruited to recover the device. one of the members of the team, Dave Dingman said that they had scanned the area of Nanda Devi with neutron detectors but no evidence of plutonium was found. the team concluded that the device and its capsules were carried downhill by a landslide. From this, only one conclusion was drawn, perhaps this device was buried in an Avalanche or lost in the glacier. In this, Dave Dingman proposes a theory that perhaps the Indian intelligence service secretly captured this device during the snowstorm without the knowledge of the Americans. Dave Dingman says that when he approached Camp 4 in 1966, some unusual but fresh signs were found there. Such as some pieces of new rope, the remains of burnt dry wood, and vague footprints. The CIA never officially acknowledged this theory in its internal reports. However, it was mentioned in some US media reports and Hugh Thomson's book Nanda Devi - A Journey to the Last Sanctuary in 1978. Thomson writes that the CIA suspected that India had captured the device and was reverse engineering it. But the CIA had no evidence or confirmation of this.
Meanwhile, in 1968, the mission site was changed and a new device was successfully installed on the 22,510 ft high Nanda Kot mountain near Nanda Devi.
In all this, the mystery of the nuclear device lost in the Himalayas still remains. Which is still operational and buried in the glacier and may be generating heat, and it may also become radioactive when mixed with the water flowing from the glacier. If this is the case, the Ganges and its tributaries may be contaminated and affect millions of people. These rivers and their water are used for drinking and agriculture. Everything that comes in contact with water can be affected.
This matter was kept secret by the Indian government. Finally, in 1978, the Indian Prime Minister Morarji desai revealed in Parliament that a nuclear device was lost during a secret Nanda Devi mission and it has not been found yet. This one sentence silenced the Parliament for some time. This device was searched for from time to time but it is still missing.
In 2018, state tourism and irrigation minister satpal maharaj had raised the issue of the radioactive device polluting the snow trickling down from the nandadevi range into the ganga and had urged PM Modi to take urgent action in the matter. on tuesday, maharaj told TOI that after Sunday's natural disaster, the necessity of the device's retrieval is even more important. On February 7, 2021, a massive flood suddenly hit Chamoli district. The disaster left over 200 killed or missing 83 bodies and 36 human body parts out of a total of 204 people missing have been recovered so far. of the missing and dead, 140 were workers at the tapovan hydropower plant site.
The entire country was considering it a glacial lake outburst flood at that time, but discussions were going on in the village situated at the foot of Nanda Devi. The machine which was lost on Nanda Devi mountain in 1965, perhaps due to the large amount of heat emanating from it, the glacier melted and this flood occurred during the cold days.
But, the villagers say that how can a glacier melt in the cold days? The plutonium device can definitely be the reason behind this. Research has found that there is no radioactive material in the water. scientist say that this is a natural disaster, there is no radiation behind it. The only concern among the people is the Ganga river and its riverbed and basin. The water of this river comes from this glacier. Suppose if contamination starts, then everything that comes in contact with the Ganga river from Uttarakhand can be polluted. Mainly, parts of Nepal, Bihar, West Bengal, Bangladesh can be affected more.
According to a 37-year study by IIT Kanpur and Uttarakhand Space Applications Centre, it is estimated that about 26 sq. km of glaciers in the Nanda Devi area have disappeared from 1980 to 2017. Scientists say this is a result of climate change. And the Indian government is periodically testing the water of the Nanda Devi glacier and the Ganga river.
The CIA report is still classified. Some Indian and American officials associated with this mission speculate that Indian intelligence may have seized the plutonium and used it in nuclear research, or reverse-engineered the device.
We are trying to provide you with information that is publicly available from the government.
