Rescuers found 17 bodies Sunday after a tourist helicopter crashed on Russia's remote Kamchatka Peninsula with 22 people on board, including 19 tourists and three crew members.
The helicopter, operated by Kamchatka-based Vityaz-aero, disappeared shortly after takeoff on Saturday, according to regional authorities.
Russia's Emergencies Ministry said efforts to search for remaining passengers were underway. Everyone on board the helicopter was presumed dead.
The crash is believed to have been caused by poor visibility and weather conditions, Russian news agencies reported, RIA Novosticiting the Ministry of Emergency Situations.
The helicopter was found early Sunday in a hilly area at an altitude of 900 meters, Kamchatka Governor Vladimir Solodov said in a video posted on Telegram.
“The wreckage of the previously missing helicopter was visible from the air,” the Emergencies Ministry wrote on Telegram.
Aerial footage released by Russia's Emergency Situations Ministry showed debris on a slope near the top of a forested hill.
The plane took off near the Vachkazhets volcano, but failed to reach its destination, according to Russia's Federal Air Transport Agency.
Ivan Lemikhov, a ministry official, said, “now we found 17 bodies.
The twin-engine, Soviet-designed Mi-8 helicopter is typically used for transport in Russia's sparsely populated and inaccessible Far East, where accidents are common. (ps/ab)
