Five mountaineers killed climbing a volcano in Russia

Sep. 3 () –

Five tourists have died and two more have been injured during a climb on the Kliuchevskoi volcano, the largest in Eurasia, with 4,800 meters high, according to the Russian authorities.

“According to preliminary information, five tourists (…) have died during the climb,” explained the Kamchatka Region Prosecutor’s Office in a message published on Telegram and collected by the Russian news agency TASS.

The deceased were part of a group of twelve tourists from Russian regions such as Altai, Primorski, Kamchatka, Moscow, Novosibirsk and Vladimir. The victims “fell during the ascent”, according to the Prosecutor’s Office.

Later the Kamchatka regional government has reported that there were two more people injured, a tourist and a guide. “Five tourists have died, another is unconscious and a guide has been injured and has a broken leg,” she explained.

The tourists arrived at the volcano on Tuesday, according to the company that organized the trip, based in Novosibirsk, but the deaths were not known until Saturday, when one of the guides was able to contact the rescue services.

The fall occurred at an altitude of almost 4,200 meters and the evacuation operation is already being prepared. “A helicopter has arrived at the scene and the specialists are working on the evacuation of the victims. The rescuers have to acclimatise, so they have spent the night at an altitude of 3,300 meters. They will arrive at the scene of the tragedy around 6:00 on the 4th. September,” the Kamchatka government reported on its website.

Meanwhile, communication with the survivors is maintained via satellite phone. “Tourists have been advised to lower altitude to avoid hypothermia,” the Kamchatka government said.