A Russian helicopter carrying 22 people has gone missing in the far eastern peninsula of Kamchatka. The Mi-8T helicopter, operated by the company “Vityaz-Aero”, took off from a base near the Vachkazhets volcano on Saturday, but failed to arrive at its scheduled destination, Nikolaevka village, in the Yelizovsky district. The helicopter was carrying three crew members and 19 passengers.
The Russian emergency services confirmed the missing helicopter and launched a search and rescue operation. A search team of five people and four pieces of equipment was dispatched to the area near the Vachkazhets volcano. They are tasked with scouring the surrounding region for any sign of the missing helicopter.
The helicopter was expected to arrive at its destination at 7:00 am Moscow time, but failed to report. The Mi-8 helicopter, a twin-engine model designed in the 1960s, has been involved in several fatal accidents in recent years, raising concerns about its safety. Earlier this month, another Mi-8 helicopter carrying 16 people crashed in Russia’s Far East region.
The Vachkazhets volcano, located in the west of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky city, is part of the Uzhno-Bystrinsky mountain range. The volcano, now categorized as extinct, had powerful eruptions in the past that created the three summits of the mountain range: Poperechnaya mountain, Vachkazhtsy mountain, and Vachkazhets mountain. The Kamchatka Peninsula, known for its volcanic activity, is home to around 160 volcanoes, with 29 still active.
The search for the missing helicopter is ongoing, and this is a developing story. Further updates will be provided as they become available.
