Siberian Fishermen Lost for Three Months May Have Eaten One of Their Friends to Survive

Siberian police are investigating what might have happened during a fishing trip on which four men set out and only two came back. It is suspected that the two survivors might have killed at least one other and rumored they might have resorted to cannibalism after being lost for several months. The two men rescued from the Yakutia Region went missing from the hospital.

According to a report in The Siberian Times, two men in their 30s -- Alexander Abdullaev and Alexei Gradulenko -- were rescued in late November from an expedition that began in August, but were described as found "only just" alive. A body of a comrade found near the rescue site is not yet identifiable, but the Times reported police saying they think the cause of death was murder with cuts on his body suggesting cannibalism. The fourth body has not yet been found.

Survivor Alexei Gradulenko on the rescue helicopter. (Photo: Russian Emergencies Ministry via The Siberian Times)

Alexander Abdullaev  (Photo: Russian Emergencies Ministry via The Siberian Times)

The Times reported more of a morbid account given to another publication:

"We suspect, the two survivors could have killed and eaten their friend just because of hunger,' an anonymous source told Life News tabloid.

"But both deny they have anything to do with his death. Looking at the body parts found at the spot, we clearly saw cuts.

"It means the body was hacked to pieces.

"Now the body parts - some human meat and part of the skull - are taken to the morgue."

According to Ria Novosti, the men said they had been separated from the others. It noted that the men left the hospital's care this week when suspicions were roused of questionable causes of death on the Internet.

The Siberian Times reported the men saying they split off from the other two when one of them -- either the man missing or the one found dead -- hurt his leg. According to the Times, the survivors had not been charged or arrested while they were in the hospital.

The foursome was expected to only be gone a few weeks on the fishing trip. It was only after the sister of one contacted the authorities in November that the search for them officially began.

Read more details about the mysterious case in The Siberian Times here.

(H/T: Daily Mail)