☢️ The CIA Lost a Plutonium Nuclear Generator in the Mountains

In 1965, the CIA decided to install a radio transmitter on one of the most dangerous Himalayan peaks, Mount Nanda Devi (7,816 m), to monitor Chinese nuclear tests. A year earlier, China had tested an atomic bomb, and the US had virtually no agents inside the country. The equipment was to be powered by a plutonium nuclear generator.

The operation was disguised as a "scientific expedition." The official leader was the famous National Geographic photographer Barry Bishop. But in reality, he was joined by American intelligence officers and Indian military mountaineers.

However, the mission didn't go as planned. When the group nearly reached the summit, a severe blizzard and gale-force winds forced the climbers to turn back for their own survival. They left all the equipment—including the nuclear generator—on an icy ledge. The following year, during a repeat mission, it turned out that an avalanche had swept everything away—the plutonium generator disappeared without a trace.

In the late 1970s, the secret leaked to the media, causing a scandal in India. It became clear that the device might have ended up in a glacier feeding tributaries of the Ganges—a river sacred to Hindus and vital to hundreds of millions of people.

And although scientists believe the environmental risk is low, plutonium from the lost generator could still be used for a "dirty" bomb—if someone finds it.

@hiaimediaen