Three survived
“When the guide first contacted the Ministry of Emergency Situations, he was told said that no pilot would have a license to fly a helicopter at an altitude of more than 3300 meters,” said the head of the commission of the Russian Union of Tourism Industry (PCT ) for adventure tourism and the general director of the company RussiaDiscovery Vadim Mamontov.
At that time, according to him, the weather still made it possible to land where the travelers were. But when the pilot and the plane were found, it deteriorated: it was no longer possible to quickly access the victims.
“The group had to wait at this height, and it probably caused the death of people, “suggests Mamontov.< p>
Search and rescue operation of the Ministry of Emergency Situations on the Klyuchevskoy volcano Pavel Zhuravlev: “There was wind gusts of 25 to 30 meters per second, plus snow, zero visibility.”
As a result, they worked according to the instructions, he notes. “Every call is coordinated with the authorities , they get a group together, work out the logistics. If it is an unknown area for lifeguards, they take a guide with them. If the helicopter cannot land at the location where the emergency occurred, they do a high drop. After that, they continue to climb towards the victims on foot”.
