A lost nuclear device in the Himalayas
Overview
In 1965, an Indo-American team sent an undercover mission to install a surveillance device on top of Nanda Devi Mountain to monitor China’s nuclear activity in Tibet. The nuclear generator that was to power the radiation sensors was lost during a storm. Several rescue attempts were then made between 1966 and 1968 to locate and recover the device. It is claimed that around 1968 a similar device that had been placed on Nanda Kot Mountain was dismantled. The current status of the lost device is unknown.
Mountains, spies and nuclear explosions
In the Indian Himalayas, near the border with China, we find two imposing stone masses: the Nanda Devi and the Nanda Kot. The Nanda Devi (a sacred mountain for locals) has two twin peaks (the western peak has an altitude of 7,816 meters and the eastern 7,434 meters) and is the second highest mountain in India.
The Nanda Kot, on the other hand, has an altitude of 6,861 meters.
This map will help to better understand the interest that these mountains have as far as geostrategic is concerned: Nanda Kot, India. (Google Maps).