Helicopter crashes in the crater of a volcano in Russia, 8 people are missing.

A tourist helicopter carrying tourists into the crater of a volcano in Russia has crashed. Reportedly, there are 8 people missing and until now have not been found. The incident took place on the Kamchatka Peninsula, in Russia's far east.

The SAR team was immediately dispatched to search for the 8 missing victims who had fallen into the lake, which was the former volcanic eruption. There were a total of 16 passengers on the helicopter, consisting of 13 tourists and 3 helicopter crew. 8 passengers on the helicopter managed to survive, although there were 2 people who suffered serious injuries.

Citing the AP, the crash site of the helicopter containing the tourists was in the Kronotsky Nature Reserve area. Meanwhile, the lake where the helicopter crashed is called Kurile Lake. The RIA Novosti news agency reported that the type of tourist helicopter that crashed was a Mi-8. The passengers on the helicopter were said to be from St. Petersburg and Moscow in Russia.

The Russian SAR team said the helicopter was at the bottom of the Kurile lake at a depth of about 100 m. Lake Kurile itself has a depth of up to 316 meters with an area of ​​​​77 square kilometers. Mi-8 itself was produced in the era of the Soviet Union about 37 years ago. The tourist helicopter is also operated by a company called Vityaz-Aero.

For now, it is suspected that the cause of the crash of this helicopter is weather problems. There was heavy fog on the day the helicopter crashed into Lake Kurile. Bad weather in the form of thick fog also made it difficult for the Russian SAR team to evacuate the 8 victims who were still missing.