CIA lost nuclear device in Himalayas; does it pose threat?
What's the story
A New York Times investigation has brought to light a long-buried Cold War secret involving the United States, India, and China. The story revolves around a nuclear-powered surveillance device that went missing on Nanda Devi in 1965. The covert operation was carried out by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and India's Intelligence Bureau (IB) in 1965 under the pretense of a scientific expedition to monitor China's nuclear and missile activities after its first atomic bomb test in 1964 in Xinjiang.
Strategic location
Nanda Devi: The chosen site for surveillance
Nanda Devi, a 25,645-foot peak on India's border with China, was selected as the site for this secret mission. The equipment included a SNAP-19C portable nuclear generator powered by plutonium. This generator had almost a third of the plutonium used in Nagasaki's bomb and was designed to run unattended for years. American climbers and Indian intelligence-backed mountaineers were roped in under the guise of scientific research.
Operation halted
Mission abandoned amid harsh weather conditions
Despite warnings from Indian military captain and mountaineer MS Kohli about the mission's difficulty, it proceeded in September 1965. A blizzard near the summit on October 16 forced the team to abandon their equipment. The crew cached the device on the mountain and retreated, but when climbers returned the next season, the radioisotope thermoelectric generator (RTG) and its plutonium core had vanished, most likely washed away by avalanche or buried deep in the glacier.
Ongoing fears
Missing device raises environmental and health concerns
The disappearance of the nuclear device has raised fears of radiation and environmental risks. Scientists believe contamination of the Ganges River would be diluted by water volume, but there are still concerns for people living near mountain streams. Plutonium is highly toxic if inhaled or ingested and can cause cancer. American climber Jim McCarthy, who developed testicular cancer after the mission, blamed his illness on radiation exposure during the operation.
Unanswered questions
Speculation surrounds landslide near Nanda Devi
The missing device has also sparked speculation about its connection to the 2021 landslide near Nanda Devi. While scientists attribute climate change as a likely cause, locals and former officials remain unconvinced. The RTG uses heat from radioactive material to generate electricity. RTGs are frequently used on space missions or in remote locations where solar power is ineffective. An RTG is not a nuclear bomb and cannot detonate. The worry is radiation safety if the material is broken or exposed.
Leaders
BJP MP alleges CIA nuclear spy mission on Nanda Devi
Uttarakhand tourism minister Satpal Maharaj called for excavation of the device to put fears to rest, while BJP MP Nishikant Dubey blamed the Congress government for the botched covert operation. "In 1967 and 1969, [India] collaborated with CIA to install nuclear espionage equipment for China on Nanda Devi...All the equipment was left there as the Americans fled. Isn't this the reason why cancer rates are rising among people living along the banks of the Ganga from Uttarakhand to Bengal?"
Diplomatic silence
US and Indian governments remain tight-lipped
Both the US and Indian governments have refused to comment on the 1965 operation, citing policy on intelligence matters. Diplomatic efforts in the late 1970s between US President Jimmy Carter and Indian Prime Minister Morarji Desai tried to quietly defuse the issue but failed to recover the device. The CIA has never publicly acknowledged this mission, leaving it as an unresolved chapter of Cold War espionage under Himalayan ice and rock.