All news

An-74, Mi-8 dispatched to search for 3 policemen on Amur river

The policemen were participating in the operation to find the poachers

KHABAROVSK, October 13 (Itar-Tass) —— An airplane An-74 and a helicopter Mi-8 with rescuers onboard were dispatched from Khabarovsk to the Nikolayevsk-on-Amur to search for three policemen, who got missing overnight to Friday, a source in the Far Eastern regional emergency situation centre told Itar-Tass on Saturday.

The policemen were participating in the operation codenamed Putina-2012 (fishing season) to find the poachers, which are fishing illegally in the lower reaches of the Amur River, the transport department of the Russian Interior Ministry in the Far Eastern Federal District said. The policemen did not get on the line at the fixed time during a patrolling mission. The police officers had the service guns. According to the preliminary reports, the motor boat with the police officers got missing about nine kilometres away from Nikolayevsk-on-Amur.

The search has been futile over the past day. The fate of the policemen remains unclear. The motor boat Amur with the policemen onboard is not found yet.

Emergency workers, policemen, officers of the state inspection for small vessels and other agencies are participating in the search operation on Saturday. Six vessels are searching on the river in the incident area.