MOSCOW
\nA helicopter carrying 16 tourists and crew on a sightseeing trip in Russia\u2019s far east crashed into a lake on Thursday, leaving eight people including a child feared dead and two others in serious condition.
\nThe Mi-8 helicopter crash-landed into the icy waters of Kuril Lake in the mountainous Kamchatka peninsula in poor visibility and sank, local authorities said.
\nStaff of the Kronotsky Nature Reserve dispatched boats to the crash site and saved eight people, two of whom are now in intensive care with various injuries. Survivors praised wildlife inspectors for coming to their rescue in a matter of minutes.
\n\u201cThis situation is close to a miracle,\u201d said governor Vladimir Solodov.
\nThe other eight \u2014 including the only child on board and the crew commander \u2014 were missing and feared dead.
\n\u201cWe don\u2019t have any information about the rest,\u201d the governor\u2019s spokeswoman, Alla Golovan, told AFP.
\nThe wreckage of the helicopter was now lying at a depth of more than 130 meters (420 feet) some 700 meters from the shore, the emergencies ministry said.
\nRescuers and divers were dispatched to the scene but they did not have the necessary equipment to begin work at that depth.
\nSolodov said the authorities turned to the defense ministry, which sent the necessary underwater equipment.
\n\u201cRobots will be studying the bottom of Kuril Lake at the site of the crash,\u201d the governor said.
\nRecounting the crash and subsequent rescue operation, wildlife inspectors said that the visibility at the lake was no greater than 100 meters, adding that they heard the helicopter but could not see it.
\nWhen staff of the reserve heard a loud \u201cboom,\u201d they said they dispatched two motorboats with four inspectors, who reached the scene in about three to four minutes.
\n\u201cEight people were on the surface, who we immediately lifted onboard,\u201d inspector Yevgeny Denges said in a statement. The inspectors looked for other survivors but could not find anyone, Denges added.
\nCiting the survivors, the nature reserve said that the chopper began to sink nose first and the passengers managed to swim up to the surface from a depth of eight to nine meters.
\n\u201cThe water temperature in the lake is no more than 5-6 degrees (Celsius, 41-43 degrees Fahrenheit), it is impossible to remain in it for a long time,\u201d the reserve said.
\nThe tourists were from Russia\u2019s second city Saint Petersburg.
\nOne of the survivors, Viktor Strelkin, said that at the time of the accident he was sleeping and woke up when a stream of water hit him in the face.
\n\u201cMy friend\u2019s son was sitting next to me. He was fastened with a security belt and I did not have time to yank him out because I woke up too late,\u201d Strelkin said in remarks released by authorities.
\nStrelkin, who practices free-diving, managed to unfasten himself, breathe in some air before the cabin filled with water, get out of the aircraft and swim up to the surface.
\nAnother survivor, state TV presenter Nikolai Korzhenevsky, appeared to blame the crew for the accident.
\n\u201cFor some reason we flew there even though we knew about the horrible weather conditions there,\u201d he said.
\nKamchatka is a vast peninsula popular with adventure tourists for its abundant wildlife, live volcanoes and black sand beaches.
\nThe aircraft belongs to a firm called Vityaz-Aero, co-owned by local lawmaker Igor Redkin.
\nEarlier this week, Redkin made headlines in Russia when he admitted to killing a man he mistook for a bear.
\nOfficials said the helicopter had been in operation since 1984 but was in good condition.
\nThe Investigative Committee, which probes major crimes, said it was looking into a potential violation of air safety rules.
\nThe regional prosecutor\u2019s office launched a probe to study \u201cthe implementation of the legislation on the provision of tourist services.\u201d
\nIn July, a small plane crashed on the peninsula, killing 19 people when it flew into a cliff.
\nAirplane crashes are fairly common in Russia due to poor maintenance and lax compliance with safety rules.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
MOSCOW A helicopter carrying 16 tourists and crew on a sightseeing trip in Russia\u2019s far east crashed into a lake on Thursday, leaving eight people including a child feared dead and two others in serious condition. The Mi-8 helicopter crash-landed into the icy waters of Kuril Lake in the mountainous Kamchatka peninsula in poor visibility […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-209436","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-world"],"yoast_head":"\n