A tourist helicopter flying near a volcano in Russia’s Far East crashed killing 22 passengers – after going missing in bad weather conditions.
Russia’s emergencies ministry said the bodies of 17 people had been found and that rescuers were continuing to search for the remaining occupants. The helicopter, which was operated by Vityaz-Aero, was carrying tourists, according to local media.
All those on board are presumed to have died, Russian state news agency RIA Novosti said, citing the Emergencies Ministry, adding that the helicopter had likely crashed due to poor visibility in bad weather conditions.
“The wreckage of the previously missing helicopter was discovered from the air. It is located at an altitude of 900 meters (2,950 feet) near the place where it was last contacted,” the emergencies ministry wrote on Telegram.
The Mi-8 helicopter took off close to the Vachkazhets volcano in the Kamchatka region on Saturday but did not arrive at its destination as scheduled, Russia’s Federal Air Transport Agency earlier said in a statement. The agency said it believed that 19 passengers and three crew members were on board.
The Mi-8 is a two-engine helicopter designed in the 1960s. It is widely used in Russia, where crashes have been frequent, as well as in neighboring countries and many other nations.
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Russian media describe Vityaz-Aero as one of the largest air carriers in the Kamchatka region. After a helicopter crash in 2021, in which eight people were killed, authorities banned the company from transporting passengers pending an investigation into a possible violation of flight safety rules.
Vityaz-Aero is the biggest of several local carriers which fly tourists to the Kronotsky reserve, a top tourist attraction that houses Russia’s only geyser basin. Kamchatka, a pristine peninsula with numerous volcanoes, is known for its rugged beauty and rich wildlife.
The crash comes just months after a Russian Sukhoi Superjet 100 passenger plane crashed in Russia on its first flight since repairs. The crew of three were all killed on a flight without passengers as the aircraft went down near Moscow. The captain, Yevgeniy Bulavko, was reportedly killed along with co-pilot Maxim Lukmanov and flight attendant Vladislav Kharlamov some three hours after repairs on the jet had been completed.
Footage from before the crash shows the plane flying in the air steadily. Reports indicate the pilot issued a distress call and the aircraft circled to burn fuel ahead of an intended emergency landing.
He is believed to have diverted the aircraft away from built up areas – the villages of the villages of Apraksino and Maloe Karasevo – areas and it crashed in a forest. The aircraft exploded on impact triggering a column of black smoke.
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