Town in Mongolia closed for quarantine after Bubonic plague claimed two lives

The Mongolian Ministry of Health confirmed two people - a 38 years old man and his pregnant wife, 37 - died from plague after consuming raw meat and internal organs of a marmot. 

Their deaths left four children as orphans aged from two to 13. 

Dramatic pictures have shown at least one aircraft being met by anti-contamination emergency workers in a bid to prevent spread of the disease. 

The local town of Ulgii (or Ölgii) on the border with Russia was shut for quarantine by Mongolian health authorities and army.

Several dozen tourists from all over the world had to alter their holiday plans, and are now waiting to hear when they might be allowed to leave the town. 

Sanitary and epidemiological services in Russia’s Altai and Tuva republics, which neighbour the Bayan-Ölgii province of Mongolia, are on high alert since news broke of the plague outbreak. Pictures: Vesti Rossiya

‘Did you think that the plague was something from the Dark Ages? Us too!! We were just about to leave Ulgii to go deeper into Mongolia, but all exits of the town were shut and we were not allowed to leave. Half of the city is closed due to some plague-contaminated marmots!’ wrote traveler Elena Kovena from Kemerovo who is marooned on the border with her husband Timur. 

‘This is just so surreal!’ 

With a big group of fellow travellers from the US, Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland, South Korea and Germany, the Russians were besieging the authorities, desperate to leave the town.

The tragic family that died from plague got infected after eating raw kidneys of a marmot. 

An old Mongolian tradition says that a raw meat and internal organs of freshly killed marmot strengthens health, local media reported. 

Russian adventurers Elena and Timur got stuck in the city of Uglii after Bubonic plague killed two people. Pictures: Timur Konev

The Mongolian Ministry of Health stressed they did not think that the situation with the plague was critical or anywhere near epidemic. 

Yet there was no deadline announced for the quarantine which in the worst case scenario can last as long as 21 days. 

‘We were told to wait for updates on Monday, 6 May’, tourist Timur Konev said. 

Speaking from inside the Eagle's Nest hotel, with an international group of stranded tourists sharing drinks and a meal, Timur said: ‘Six nationalities got together earlier today to plan the escape route. 

‘We spoke to local administration, to local police, but they didn’t allow us out.’

A group of foreign and Russian tourists got locked in the city of Uglii where plague claimed lives of a husband and his pregnant wife  

Sanitary and epidemiological services in Russia’s Altai and Tuva republics, which neighbour the Bayan-Ölgii province of Mongolia, are on high alert since news broke of the plague outbreak.

In Uglii a total of 158 people who came directly or indirectly into contact with the couple are ‘under supervision’.

The plague is a bacterial disease that is spread by fleas living on wild rodents such as marmots. 

The disease can kill an adult in less than 24 hours if not treated in time, according to the World Health Organisation.

The plague is believed to be the cause of the Black Death that spread through Asia, Europe and Africa in the 14th century, killing an  estimated 50 million people.