According to The New York Times, not long after China's first atomic bomb test, in 1965, the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) collaborated with India to send climbers to install a series of surveillance devices on Mount Nanda Devi, a peak on the Sino-Indian border, including antennas, cables, and the most critical SNAP-19C—a portable power generator designed in a secret laboratory and powered by radioactive fuel. During the climb, the climbing team encountered severe weather and had to evacuate urgently, temporarily securing the equipment on an ice cliff—including the nuclear device, which contained almost a third of the plutonium used in the Hiroshima bomb. Since then, this nuclear device has never been found. The image is from The New York Times. Mount Nanda Devi is surrounded by steep peaks and is one of the most difficult mountains to climb in the Himalayas. The CIA chose this location because it could overlook hundreds of miles of the Sino-Indian border. However, the glacial meltwater from these mountain peaks flows into the Ganges River and nourishes densely populated river basins. Local leaders are worried that the plutonium in the lost nuclear device may have already slipped into the glaciers, potentially polluting people downstream. Sixty years after the U.S. lost a nuclear device on the summit, the U.S. government still refuses to acknowledge anything happened. Even today, decades later, Indians are still demanding the truth.
Image source: Internet
Original article: toutiao.com/article/1851465287935115/
Statement: This article represents the personal views of the author.