Tragedy in Kamchatka: Helicopter crash claims 22 lives

Three crew members and 19 passengers were aboard the Mi-8 helicopter. On Sunday, the wreckage was found. No one survived, Reuters reported. According to Russian media on Saturday, one of the passengers was the Chief Financial Officer of the Russian Football Union, Arseniy Zamyatin, and his wife Polina.

Since Saturday, searches for the Mi-8 helicopter with 22 people on board had been ongoing in Kamchatka. Weather conditions hampered the operation. On Sunday, the wreckage was found. None of the 22 people on board survived, Reuters reported, citing Russian news agencies.

It is known that the Chief Financial Officer of the Russian Football Union (RFU), Arseniy Zamyatin, was on board with his wife, Polina. "Zamyatin was on vacation in Kamchatka with his wife and planned to take a helicopter tour to one of the volcanoes," the union's press office informed on Saturday.

The helicopter disappeared after taking off from a base near the Vachkazhets volcano in eastern Russia's southern part of the Kamchatka Peninsula. It was supposed to reach the village of Nikolayevka. Over the weekend, Kamchatka was struck by a cyclone accompanied by strong wind and rain. The causes of the crash are under investigation.

"According to preliminary data, the cause of the accident was pilot error. In conditions of poor visibility, the helicopter crashed into a hill," reported the Russian service rtvi.com, citing a source from the TASS agency.

Rescue services stated that the crew did not report any malfunctions of the machine. The Mi-8 is a twin-engine helicopter designed in the '60s, frequently used in Russian air transport.