MOSCOW, August 9 /TASS/. Russian Emergencies Ministry divers have raised the body of a third helicopter-seaplane collision victim from the Istra water reservoir near Moscow, a representative of the Emergencies Ministry department for the Moscow region told TASS at the crash site.
"The Emergency Ministry’s divers have raised the body of another victim to the surface; the search for other victims continues," the source said.
The death toll from the crash has reached 3 by now, including an 8-year-old child, a man and a 14-year-old girl. The rescuers retrieved her from the water almost immediately after the accident when she was still alive. Regrettably, she died later despite doctors’ efforts to save her life.
A Robinson helicopter and a seaplane fell to a depth of 13 metres into the Istra water reservoir after a collision. The accident took place 500 metres away from the shore. The two aircraft are lying at a distance of 5 metres from each on the artificial lake’s bed, the source told journalists.
The Russian Investigation Committee predicts that the number of dead and injured in the accident may rise to 9 people.
Criminal proceedings have been initiated on the collision incident on charges of violation of air traffic safety rules that led to the death by inadvertence of two and more people.
Moscow region Governor Andrei Vorobyov has taken the situation under personal control.