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No helicopter found at location mentioned by the crew

A search operation in the area is still under way

MOSCOW, July 2 (Itar-Tass) - Two land groups of rescuers have reached a location given by the crew of a Mi-8 helicopter that crash landed in Yakutia earlier on Tuesday, Irina Rossius, a Russian Emergencies Ministry spokesperson, told Itar-Tass on Tuesday.

"No helicopter was found in the coordinates given by the crew,” she said.

A search operation in the area is still under way.

Rossius said that another Mi-8 helicopter that had done air reconnaissance did not find anything in the area because of fog.

The Mi-8 helicopter flew from the Deputatskiy settlement to the Kazachye village. According to clarified reports, there were 28 people onboard, including three crew members and 25 passengers, of which 11 were children.

Anatoly Skrybykin, the vice-premier of the Yakutian government, said that according to preliminary reports, the helicopter had collided with a strong air torrent as it had flown over the pass. “It touched a hill, hit the ground and went on fire,” Skrybykin said.

A law enforcement source told Itar-Tass that the helicopter had lost control because of descending air flows.