None of the 22 occupants – 3 crew members and 19 tourists – of the Mil Mi-8 helicopter that crashed yesterday in Kamchatka, a region in the far east of the Russian Federation, survived.This is what emerges from the first reports of the authorities managing the accident, while the Ministry for Emergency Situations communicates that 17 bodies have already been recovered. On board there were the financial director of the Russian Football Union (RFU) Arseny Zamyatin and his wife Polina Zamyatina. Radio Free Europe reports this, although there is no official confirmation. Search operations are currently underway in Kamchatka, complicated by unfavorable weather conditions and darkness, which make the work of rescuers difficult.
The helicopter was performing a flight from the helipad near the Vachkazhets volcano to the Nikolayevka helipad, but the crew failed to establish contact at the scheduled time. The press service of the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations said Sunday morning that fragments of the missing helicopter were found at an altitude of 900 meters near the place where the last contact with the crew took place. The helicopter is owned by Vityaz Aero.