Helicopter with 22 people on board disappears over Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula

Aug. 31 () –

At least 22 people are missing after the helicopter they were travelling in went off radar over the Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia’s Far East, aviation authorities in the country confirmed on Saturday.

“There were initially 22 people on board the helicopter: 19 passengers and three crew members,” the Russian Federal Air Transport Agency said in a statement.

In the note, the agency identifies the aircraft as a Mi-8 of the Vityaz-Aero airline that was flying over the area of ​​the Vachkazhets volcano when it lost contact around 06.15 (mainland Spain and Balearic Islands time).

Local authorities have launched a search mission led by another Mi-8 helicopter over the area while the Prosecutor’s Office has launched an investigation to clarify what happened, according to the Russian news agency Interfax.