Russia: Helicopter with 16 people on board crashes in Kamchatka

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Russia: Helicopter with 16 people on board crashes in Kamchatka

Aug 12, 2021: The local government said a helicopter carrying 16 people, most of them tourists, crashed on Russia’s eastern Kamchatka Peninsula, leaving seven passengers missing.

It said in a statement on Thursday that the Mi-8 helicopter crashed in Lake Kuril in Russia’s Kronotsky Nature Reserve.

According to reports by the AP, the helicopter crashed into Lake Kuril up to a depth of approximately 100 meters, with the Lake at a depth of 316 meters  and area 77 square kilometers.

According to preliminary information, the plane had three crew members and 13 passengers on board. Forty rescuers and divers were dispatched to the scene. Kamchatka is 6,000 kilometers  east of Moscow, the Russian capital.

Nine people were rescued, according to local health ministry sources.

“Nine people have been found, they are all alive,” the source told Russia’s Interfax news agency, adding that the search operation was continuing.

The fate of the other seven was not immediately known. An investigation has been launched into violations of air safety laws, according to the Russian Committee of Inquiry, which handles the investigation into the plane crashes.

Meanwhile, Interfax News Agency quoted officials as saying the helicopter was carrying three crew members and 14 tourists when it plunged into deep fog.

Russia’s Interfax initially quoted regional officials as saying that nine people, including two pilots, had survived the crash, but later said only eight had survived, while the search for others continued.

The varying numbers could not be reconciled immediately.

The reports did not list the nationalities of the tourists, but said most were from Moscow and St. Petersburg. The area where the crash took place can only be reached by helicopter, and the fog is complicating relief efforts. The Vityaz-Aero helicopter was taking tourists to Khodtka, a volcano near the city of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky.

According to Russian news reports, Vityaz Aero is owned partly by Igor Redkin, a millionaire businessman, a member of the Kamchatka regional legislature.

Redkin was placed under house arrest earlier this week after he shot and killed a man who was rummaging through a trash can. Redkin said the shooting was accidental when he thought the victim was a bear.

Kamchatka is a large area with some inhabitants but tourists come for its volcanoes and unique landscapes.

In July, all 28 people aboard the Antonov AN-26 twin-engine turboprop died in an accident in Kamchatka.

Historically, Russia had a poor air safety record, but since the 2000s it has significantly improved its aviation standards.

Russia’s major airlines have switched from the old Soviet planes to more modern ones. But maintenance issues and neglect of safety rules remain a problem.

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