MOSCOW: A Mi-8T helicopter carrying 22 people, including 19 tourists and three crew members, has gone missing in Russia’s Kamchatka peninsula, regional authorities reported on Saturday.
The helicopter took off from a base near the Vachkazhets volcano but failed to report in at the scheduled time of 4 GMT, according to the federal air transport agency.
Kamchatka Governor Vladimir Solodov confirmed in a video posted on Telegram that communication was lost with the helicopter around 16:15 local time. Rescue teams are conducting a search operation focusing on a river valley where the aircraft was expected to fly.
The Mi-8, a Soviet-designed military helicopter commonly used for transport in Russia, had been on a scenic flight over the peninsula’s rugged landscapes and active volcanoes.
