A tourist group, consisting mostly of children, has been caught in a strong lake storm in Karelia, northwest Russia, according to the authorities.
Preliminary reports state that the group consisted mostly of 12 to 15-year-olds, all of them from Moscow, according to the Moscow mayor Sergey Sobyanin.
В Карелии произошла большая трагедия. На Сямозере по предварительным данным погибли десять детей из Москвы. Соболезную родным и близким.
— Сергей Собянин (@MosSobyanin) 19 June 2016
Reportedly there were two boats and one raft, and according to preliminary reports both boats capsized during the storm.
Thirty six people have been rescued so far, according to EMERCOM. The fate of four tourists is still unknown.
"Thirty six have been rescued so far, twenty five of them are now in the island, eleven more — in Kudoma village," an EMERCOM source told RIA Novosti.
"We have found eleven bodies, the rescue operation is underway for at least four more," Fedor Polshin, head of EMERCOM's North-Western Region press-service, told RIA Novosti.
Карелия. Сямозеро. pic.twitter.com/i72hvX3tAg
— Русский Топор (@TOPORRUS) 19 June 2016
The incident took place at the Lake Syamozero, a large freshwater lake in the Republic of Karelia.
Горячая линия по Сямозеро:
— МЧС МОСКВЫ (@emercom_press) 19 June 2016
ГУ МЧС Республики Карелия (8412) 730-230
ГУ МЧС Москве (495)6372222
Департамента соцзащиты Москвы (495)6231060
Russian General Prosecutor's office has opened a criminal investigation. The head of the Republic of Karelia has taken off to the site.
