The wreckage of the Mi-8 helicopter that went missing in Russia’s Far East has been discovered near Cape Gadikan in Khabarovsk Territory, emergency authorities confirmed on Wednesday.
“Wreckage was found near Cape Gadikan. Rescuers are heading to the site to survey the area,” the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations said in a statement.
The helicopter had five people on board, including three crew members and two technical specialists. Their condition remained unknown at the time of reporting.
According to the Eastern Interregional Investigative Department for Transport of the Russian Investigative Committee, search teams discovered a “completely destroyed aircraft with traces of fire” on a mountain slope 130 km northeast of the village of Okhotsk.
The Mi-8, operated by the private aviation company APK Vzlet, had departed from Okhotsk on Monday en route to its home base in Magadan.
The crew failed to make contact at the scheduled time, and the aircraft’s emergency locator beacon did not activate, prompting a large-scale search effort.