Russian woman found dead, likely poisoned by gases at Uttarakhand hot spring

DEHRADUN: A 45-year-old Russian woman was found dead in a hot spring in Gangnani, around 45 km from Uttarkashi town, on Sunday. Police suspect her death was caused by poisoning from harmful natural gases emitted from the spring.

The woman has been identified as Tatiana Lubiana. She had come to Uttarkashi with two friends - a man from Lithuania and a woman from Russia. Sub-inspector Nikhil Dev Choudhary, in charge of the Bhatwari police check-post, said that CCTV footage showed Tatiana going towards the spring alone around 6pm on Saturday. On Sunday morning, locals found her body, he said. Initial probe suggested there were no injury marks on her body, and she wasn't addicted to any drugs.

Police spoke to locals who cautioned that visitors should not spend more than 15-20 minutes in the spring due to underground gas emissions. "People often fall unconscious if they don't follow the instructions," Choudhary said. It is suspected that Tatiana disregarded the advice and lost her life due to the harmful gases. Her friends said they would cremate her in Uttarkashi," added the sub-inspector.