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11 Aug 2021, 23:17

Mi-8 helicopter with 16 people on board made hard landing in Kamchatka — ministry

A helicopter of the Disaster Medicine Center has departed to the scene, and a Mi-8 helicopter of the Russian Emergencies Ministry with rescuers is put on alert
Search and rescue operations at the crash site of the Mi-8 helicopter The Press Office of the Kamchatka Territory Branch of the Russian Emergencies Ministry/TASS
Search and rescue operations at the crash site of the Mi-8 helicopter
© The Press Office of the Kamchatka Territory Branch of the Russian Emergencies Ministry/TASS

MOSCOW, August 12. /TASS/. A Mi-8 helicopter with 13 tourists and three crew members on board has made a hard landing in Kamchatka, the helicopter of the Disaster Medicine Center is heading to the crash site of a tourist helicopter, the press service of the Emergencies Ministry in Kamchatka reported on Thursday.

"At 00:50 Moscow time on August 12, 2021, information was received about a hard landing of the Mi-8 helicopter of the Vityaz-Aero company in the area of the Kuril Lake of the Kronotsky Reserve. According to preliminary information, there are three crew members and 13 passengers on board. A helicopter of the Disaster Medicine Center has departed to the scene, and a Mi-8 helicopter of the Russian Emergencies Ministry with rescuers is put on alert," the press service told reporters.

According to the press service of the Kronotsky Nature Reserve, the helicopter belongs to the Vityaz-Aero company.

"Presumably, the helicopter belongs to the Vityaz-Aero airline, there were 13 tourists and 3 crew members on board. Aircraft of this airline is about to take off from the airport in the village of Nikolaevka to clarify the details of what happened," the press service of the reserve said.

The Vityaz-Aero airline has been operating since 2009, its fleet consists of more than 20 Mi-8 helicopters of the MTV, AMT, T and PS and Mi-2 modifications. It operates flights to remote areas of Kamchatka, including passenger transportation of tourists to hard-to-reach areas.