Investigative group flies to Mi-8 helicopter crash site.

PETROPAVLOVSK-KAMCHATSKY, April 11 (Itar-Tass) - An investigative
group is on its way to Petropavlovsk-Kamchatski in the Russian Far East
where a Mi-8 helicopter of the "Kamchatka Airlines" company crashed on
Saturday. The accident claimed the lives of ten people, including five
Germans, a source at the Kamchatka regional department of the Russian
Ministry for Emergency Situations said.
Rescuers continue recovering the bodies of dead tourists from under a
snow avalanche. The accident occurred 67 kilometers away from the town of
Yelizovo near the Dukum mountain pass. The bodies are lying from 4 to 10
meters deep under the snow. About 40 rescuers are taking part in the
rescue operation that has been under way since April 10. There are six
people under the avalanche.
There were 18 people onboard the crashed helicopter, including twelve
foreign snowboarders. The rescuers have saved eight people, including six
Germans, one Belgian and one Russian.
In the afternoon on April 10 a Mi-8 helicopter with a group of
tourists onboard lost radio contact with the ground. A search operation
began. They found the helicopter. It was totally crushed by a snow
avalanche. It turned out that fifteen tourists were on a mountain slope
when the avalanche began falling down. Three crewmen were in the pilot's
cockpit.
The avalanche pulled the helicopter 200 meters down the slope. As a
result, the Mi-8 was fully destroyed. Two crewmen who were onboard died,
the Kamchatka branch of the Emergencies Ministry department told Itar-Tass.
The bodies of four people have been retrieved from under the snow and
delivered to the town of Yelizovo.
A hot line is working at the Main Department of the Russian
Emergencies Ministry: 8 (4152) 300-120.

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