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Chilean rescuers pledge to resume search for 3 missing tourists, including a Russian

Chilean rescue teams stopped searching for the tourists after nine days of search

MOSCOW, November 23 (Itar-Tass) — The Chilean authorities have pledged to resume a search for three foreign tourists, including 32-year-old Russian national Dmitry Sivenkov, who went missing in the mountains on November 7 this year if they have new information about their fate, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Friday.

Dmitry Sivenkov arrived in Chile as tourist in September 2012. He went on a trip to the slopes of Villarrica, one of the most active volcanoes in Chile, together with his two friends from France and Italy on November 7. They stopped for the night in the mountains.

The tourists didn’t’ coordinate their actions with appropriate services. They tried to ascend to the crater of Villarrica volcano, located at a height of 2,500 meters in a national park, on foot. However, the group didn’t return in the evening of the same day as initially planned.

Chilean rescue teams stopped searching for the tourists after nine days of search. “They had examined the areas close to Villarrica and Quetrupillan volcanoes and also part of the Argentine territory adjacent to the slopes of the Quetrupillan summit. Overall, they had combed an area of more than 30,000 hectares since November 8,” the Russian Foreign Minister went on to say.

“However, the search didn’t bring any results. The Chilean authorities notified the Russian embassy in Santiago on November 16 that the rescue operation had been stopped in view of worsening weather conditions in the search area,” the Russian Foreign Ministry clarified.

The Russian embassy in Chile had been in contact with the Chilean regional authorities since the search operation’s start.

“It was also in contact with the relatives of the missing Russian national. The father of Dmitry Sivenkov is planning to arrive in Chile from Yekaterinburg. The embassy will render all the necessary assistance in arranging his meetings with rescuers and the heads of the search operation,” the Ministry said.

The Russian Foreign Ministry advises all Russians who travel abroad to get registered at consular sections of Russian embassies upon their arrival in foreign countries for the sake of personal security.

In the meantime, another Russian national, Anton Alfyorov died in hospital in Acapulco, a Mexican city in the western state of Guerrero, on October 28. His body was dispatched to Moscow on November 17.

The Russian consulate in Mexico, including the Honorable Consul of Russia in Acapulco Antonio Rayan, took an active part in carrying out all the formalities linked to sending the dead Russian’s body to Russia.

Anton Alfyorov, who used to be an acrobat at the world famous Cirque du Soleil in the past, arrived in Acapulco with an American passport to open his own circus show. The Mexican police detained Alfyorov late last month for violation of public order. According to the Mexican authorities, Alfyorov died of traumas which he had received in a prison ward as a result of mental break-down on October 28. The Russian consulate didn’t find any facts that would point to Alfyorov’s violent death.