Mi-8 Helicopter crashed in ‘Russia’ carrying 13 tourists and 3 crew members
Moscow, Aug 12 : A Mi-8 helicopter carrying three crew members and 13 tourists crashed in ‘Russia’s Kamchatka’ Territory, and eight of the people on board survived the accident, local media reported early on Thursday.
The rest are presumed to be missing and “are being looked for,” while the cause of the crash remains unknown, the Xinhua news agency reported.
“At 00:50 on August 12, 2021 (2150 GMT on Wednesday), information was received about the crash landing of a Mi-8 helicopter of the Vityaz-Aero airline in the area of the Kuril Lake of the Kronotsky Nature Reserve,” the Russian Emergencies Ministry said in a statement.
Kamchatka’s Governor Vladimir Solodov had departed for the crash site, accompanied by medics and emergencies service staffers, Sputnik reported.
According to AP news agency, the helicopter is reportedly lying at a depth of about 100 meters (328 feet) in Lake Kuril, which is up to 316 meters (1,037-feet) deep with an area of 77 square kilometers (30 square miles).
According to a local health ministry source, nine people were rescued.