Helicopter with tourists crashes in Russia’s far east

Fast News

Helicopter carrying 16 people comes down in Kuril Lake in a volcano crater in Kronotsky nature reserve, officials say.

A bear walks on a tourist trail near geysers in the Valley of Geysers in the Kronotsky nature reserve on the Kamchatka peninsular in this May 20, 2006 photo. (Reuters Archive)

A helicopter with 16 people on board has crashed in Kamchatka, in Russia’s far east, the local government said in a statement.

The helicopter came down in a lake in the Kronotsky nature reserve, and rescuers and divers were dispatched to the scene, the statement said on Thursday. 

The Emergencies Ministry said 13 tourists and three crew members were aboard the Mi-8 helicopter when it went down in the Kronotsky nature reserve, and eight people survived, according to the state RIA-Novosti news agency. 

Search for missing going on 

The Interfax news agency said the helicopter was carrying three crew members and 14 tourists when it went down in the deep fog. 

It said seven people survived the crash, and the search for others was ongoing.

The Emergencies Ministry quoted the regional administration as saying the helicopter plunged into the Kuril Lake in a volcano crater and the reserve workers in boats were searching for other survivors.

Source: AFP