A Russian Mi-8 helicopter with 22 people on board has gone missing in the Kamchatka Peninsula in the Russian Far East, Russian state media reported on Aug. 31.
According to Tass, the aircraft belongs to the Vityaz-Aero airline which organizes tourist trips on the peninsula, and disappeared during a visit to the Vachkazhets volcano.
A spokesperson for the airline initially confirmed three crew members were on board, and another of its helicopters was conducting a search.
Russia's Federal Air Transport Agency later reported 22 people were on board the missing helicopter.
The Investigative Committee for Transport has launched an investigation.
Russia's aviation industry has been hit hard by Western sanctions introduced in response to the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and multiple incidents involving equipment malfunction on civilian airplanes have been reported.
Western sanctions have included a ban on the ability of Russian airlines or Russian-owned airplanes to use EU airspace, as well as prohibiting the export of aviation-related technology, some of which is used in Russian helicopters.
The safety of Russian airlines has deteriorated as companies scramble to find spare parts.
Russia's Foreign Ministry officially filed a complaint with the U.N.'s International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) last year, saying that the sanctions "jeopardized the safety of international civil aviation."
Asami Terajima
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