Mi-8 helicopter with tourists crashes in eastern Russia; 8 missing.
A helicopter carrying tourists crashed into a volcanic lake on the Kamchatka peninsula in Russia’s far east on Thursday and rescuers were searching for eight people missing in the lake, officials said. At least eight others reportedly survived.
The helicopter went down in the Kronotsky Nature Reserve, and the regional administration said workers were searching for survivors in the Kuril Lake, which formed in a volcanic caldera and crater.
According to the state’s RIA Novosti news agency, Russia’s emergency ministry said the Mi-8 helicopter had 13 tourists and three crew members on board when it fell into the lake and eight people survived. It said that two of them were seriously injured.
The Interfax news agency, however, quoted officials as saying that three crew members and 14 tourists were on board when the helicopter landed in deep fog. It said nine people, including the two pilots, survived the crash and others were missing and feared dead.
Different numbers could not be matched immediately. The nationality of the tourists was not listed in the report.
Regional prosecutors were investigating possible violations of flight safety regulations.
The helicopter, built 37 years earlier during Soviet times, was operated by the local private carrier, Vityaz-Aero. Its director said that it was recently maintained and was in good condition.
The Mi-8 is a two-engine helicopter that was designed in the 1960s. It has been widely used in Russia, former Soviet countries and many other countries.
RIA Novosti reported that the area where the accident occurred could only be reached by helicopters and that fog was complicating rescue efforts. It added that several local emergency personnel, including three divers, are carrying out rescue operations.
Kamchatka, the ancient peninsula that is home to many volcanoes, is known for its rugged beauty and rich wildlife. The Kronotsky Reserve, which contains Russia’s only geyser basin, is a major tourist attraction on Kamchatka and helicopters regularly take tourists there.
The rapidly changing weather often makes flights risky. Last month, an AN-26 passenger plane crashed in Kamchatka while approaching an airport in bad weather, killing all 28 people on board.
.