Russian helicopter carrying 22 people missing in Far East, Ukraine attack on Belgorod leaves more than 50 dead and injured

Interfax news agency on August 31 cited preliminary data from the Russian Federal Air Transport Agency showing that a Russian helicopter carrying three crew members and 19 passengers went missing in the Kamchatka Peninsula in the Far East.

Russian Mi-8 helicopter. (Source: R IA Novosti)

The Russian Mi-8T helicopter took off from a base near the Vachkazhets volcano. The crew failed to report as scheduled at 04:00 GMT (11:00 the same day Hanoi time).

"The Mi-8 helicopter of the Vityaz-Aero airline did not reach the landing site," the local emergency response agency said on August 31. "The Mi-8 took off from the Vachkazhets volcano area to the village of Nikolaevka, Yelizovsky district, a flight distance of 25 km."

Russian media reported that the Mi-8 departed at 4:10 p.m. local time (11:10 a.m. Hanoi time), lost contact and disappeared from the radar screen five minutes later.

The Russian Federal Air Transport Agency (Rosaviatsia) said that in addition to the three-man crew, the Mi-8 can carry 19 passengers, this information is being verified.

Vityaz-Aero dispatched a search plane for the missing Mi-8. A rescue team of five people and four units of ground equipment set off for the Vachkazhets volcano by road.

Mount Vachkazhets, part of the mountain range of the same name, with an altitude of 1,556 m, is one of the famous tourist destinations on the Kamchatka Peninsula. Mount Vachkazhets is included in the list of protected natural areas of regional and local importance in the Kamchatka region of Russia.

The Mi-8 was developed by the Soviet Union in the 1960s and is one of the most produced helicopters in the world, with more than 17,000 produced. The Mi-8 has many variants for civil air transport and military operations.

In another development announced on the same day, the Governor of the border province of Belgorod - Mr. Vyacheslav Gladkov - said that 5 people were killed and 46 others were injured in the Ukrainian attack on the local city of Belgorod located in the southwestern region of Russia on the evening of August 30 (local time).

Thirty-seven people, including seven children, were taken to hospital, Gladkov said. Video of the attack posted on social media showed a car being blown up while driving down a road. Seconds later, another explosion occurred.

Ukraine has launched regular attacks on Belgorod and other Russian border areas in recent months.

Source: https://baoquocte.vn/truc-thang-nga-cho-22-nguoi-mat-tich-o-vien-dong-ukraine-tan-cong-belgorod-khien-hon-50-nguoi-thuong-vong-284594.html