Rescuers Fail to Reach Tourists at Klyuchevskoy Volcano in Russia's Far East

PETROPAVLOVSK-KAMCHATSKY, Russia (Sputnik) - Helicopter with rescuers could not land on the Klyuchevskoy volcano in Russia's Far East because of bad weather, and the attempts to rescue the remaining tourists will continue on Monday, the regional emergency service said on Sunday.

A group of 10 tourists with two guides sent an appeal for help on Saturday while ascending the Klyuchevskaya Sopka volcano in Kamchatka. According to preliminary information, five people died after falling down a cliff, one tourist was injured and was unconscious. One of the guides broke his leg. On Sunday morning, Kamchatka Deputy Prime Minister Roman Vasilevsky told Sputnik that another person had died, bringing the death toll to six. A criminal case was opened.

"They [rescuers] were expected to land at an altitude of 3,300 meters, but because of the gale force wind, with gusts reaching the velocity of about 30 meters per second, this could not be done, although there were two attempts several hours apart," the service said.

On Monday morning, a MI-8 copter of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Russia will again attempt to deliver the rescuers to the maximum possible altitude, where they will start the ascent on foot. Another rescue group of 24 people is climbing to a height of 1,200 meters, where they plan to establish a base camp to provide assistance to the rescuers that make the ascent and to those injured.

The Russian tourism watchdog is keeping the situation under control, with a 24-hour hotline for tourists' families operating, Rostourism head Zarina Doguzova said on Sunday.

The Klyuchevskoy volcano, also referred to as Klyuchevskaya Sopka, is the highest mountain of Siberia and the highest active volcano of Eurasia at 4,754 meters. According to the weather forecast. the volcano is now cloudy and the temperature at night will drop to minus 14 degrees Celsius. Wind strength is up to 15 meters per second and it is snowing. The remaining tourists reportedly have winter tents with them.