Moscow, Aug 31 (IANS) – A helicopter carrying 22 people has gone missing near the Vachkazhets volcano in the Kamchatka region of the Russian Far East, according to local media reports on Saturday. The Mi-8T helicopter, operated by Vityaz-Aero airline, lost communication shortly after taking off on Saturday morning, reported the state-owned TASS news agency.

The Federal Air Transport Agency confirmed that the helicopter, which departed from a site near the Vachkazhets volcano, failed to respond to a scheduled call at around 7:15 am, Moscow time. Communication with the helicopter was lost shortly after it picked up the tourists.

Emergency services reported that the Mi-8T helicopter disappeared from radar almost immediately after takeoff, with no issues reported by the crew prior to the loss of contact. The helicopter was carrying 19 passengers and three crew members.

Local media indicated that low visibility was recorded by the Kamchatka Hydrometeorological Centre near Nikolaevka airport, close to where contact with the helicopter was lost.

In response, another flight has been launched to search for the missing helicopter using a second Mi-8 helicopter, while a ground rescue team is prepared to follow the search route.

Additionally, a criminal case has been opened concerning the violation of traffic safety rules and the operation of air transport.

The Kamchatka Investigative Department for Transport of the Eastern MCUT Investigative Committee of Russia has started an investigation into the incident under Article 263 of the Russian Federation’s Criminal Code, which addresses violations of traffic safety rules and the operation of air transport.

A ground rescue team has also been deployed, starting from two locations—the Vachkazhets volcano and the settlement of Nikolaevka—to assist in the search efforts.

(This report has been published as part of the auto-generated syndicate wire feed. Apart from the headline, no editing has been done in the copy by ABP Live.)