A HELICOPTER carrying tourists around a volcano in Russia crashed into a mountain killing all 22 people onboard.
Grim photos from the wreckage site showed the mangled soviet-era Mi-8 chopper in Kamchatka with state media pointing to pilot error as the cause of the crash.
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The helicopter had 19 passengers and three crew on board when it plunged out of the sky on Saturday, Kamchatka governor Vladimir Solodov said on Telegram.
It had taken off from a base near tourist spot Vachkazhets volcano and was heading for the village of Nikolaevka.
Regional Emergencies Minister Sergey Lebedev confirmed on Monday that all 22 bodies had been recovered from the wreck, state news outlet Tass reports.
The outlet said emergency officials believe the crash was caused by pilot error, and that the chopper smashed into a mountain during low visibility.
Mr Lebedev said today: “In half an hour, an Emergencies Ministry helicopter will pick rescuers up from the crash site of the Mi-8 helicopter belonging to the Vityaz-Aero airline.
“The bodies of those killed have been recovered and handed over to forensics experts. The search and rescue operation is over.”
Russia’s Ministry of Emergency Situations also told Tass how pieces of the chopper were found some 900 metres up on the mountain.
A spokesman said: “Fragments of the helicopter that went missing earlier have been found from the air.
“The fragments are located at the altitude of 900 meters, near the location of last communication.”
Officials shared video of emergency workers landing near the site of the crash on Sunday and disembarking from a rescue helicopter to search the wreck.
The chopper crew were supposed to make contact at around 7.15 Moscow time on Saturday but didn’t – raising alarm bells for officials on the ground.
Kamchatka declared a day of mourning for September 3 after the fatal smash.
There was fog, rain and poor visibility in the area of the crash on Saturday, the Kamchatka Department of Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring said.
In 2021 another Mi-8 chopper smashed into a deep volcanic crater lake in Kamchatka, killing eight people.
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