VLADIVOSTOK, 12 Aug Passengers of the Mi-8 helicopter, who survived the fall into the Kuril Lake in Kamchatka, were able to swim out from a nine-meter depth, the Kronotsky Nature Reserve told reporters. the rear doors of the aircraft were opened, «the press service said.
08:30 The first footage from the crash site of the Mi-8 helicopter in Kamchatka has been published According to the local state inspector Yevgeny Denges, the victims were pulled out of the water by the reserve staff. They heard the noise of the helicopter, but did not see it. Then there was a loud bang — the Mi-8 hit the water. «We immediately launched two boats and in three or four minutes reached the crash site, which was identified by the wave. There were eight people on the surface of the water, who were immediately taken aboard and We were taken to the cordon. Two of them were seriously injured. We began to provide first aid to the victims, to warm them up. We drove around the lake several times in search of other people, but found no one, «Denges said. The water temperature in the lake is now no more than five or six degrees, it is impossible to stay in it for a long time, added the press service of the reserve. An Mi-8 helicopter crashed into Lake Kuril in the south of Kamchatka this morning local time. Onboard there were three crew members and 13 passengers, including a child. Eight of them were saved. Several victims were taken to hospitals in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, two are in serious condition. The search for eight more people continues, the rescue operation is complicated by the fact that the helicopter sank at a depth of more than one hundred meters. It was reported that the flight was a tourist, among the passengers were tourists from Moscow and St. Petersburg. The company «Vityaz-Aero», which owns the Mi-8, operates individual flights, passenger flights, as well as tourist transportation, including over the Kuril Lake. Before departure, the Mi-8 passed inspection. The overhaul was carried out last year. The Eastern Interregional Investigation Department for Transport of the UK opened a criminal case on violation of traffic safety rules and the operation of air transport. The regional prosecutor's office has begun checking the implementation of legislation on tourism services.
