According to accounts, two affluent Russian tourists on a £4,250 sightseeing excursion and a former Russian biathlon champion turned pilot were murdered on Saturday in a helicopter accident before being dragged away and mauled by bears.
On July 16, former athlete Igor Malinovskii, 25, was operating a Robinson helicopter in Kamchatka, a well-known tourist destination.
Due to severe weather, the helicopter’s communications were lost. It’s thought that once it hit the ground and crashed, it caught fire.
Known businesswoman Zoya Kaygorodova, in her mid-30s, and Sergey Kolesnyak, a mobile phone firm executive at company Tele2, were two of the guests on the exclusive vacation. He was 39.
Rescue workers discovered the burnt wreckage of the Nadezhda, or Hope, helicopter in the Valley of the Geysers on the Kamchatka peninsula in Russia’s far east.
On July 17, a day after the incident, and about eight miles from the Uzon volcano, the debris was found. Pictures from the scene of the helicopter crash revealed burned ground and bent metal.
‘The remains of dead tourists after the crash of a Robinson helicopter in Kamchatka were dragged away by bears,’ said 5TV channel, citing local sources.
Human remains were reported to have been found away from the crash site.
The tourists were part of a group on a £4,250 trip to Kamchatka, a bear-infested peninsula famous for volcanoes, geysers and glaciers – and its picturesque landscape. Kaygorodova had organised the trip.
Kamchatka Territory’s Governor Vladimir Solodiv confirmed the crash.
‘Rescuers in Kamchatka have found the Robinson helicopter, missing since yesterday, burned 13 kilometres south of the Uzon caldera,’ he said, according to Euro Weekly.
‘The chopper with two passengers on board and a pilot was on a private flight, and the group was not registered as tourists.’
Known entrepreneur Zoya Kaygorodova, who is in her mid-30s, and Tele2 CEO Sergey Kolesnyak were two of the guests on the exclusive vacation. He was 39.
Rescuers discovered the burnt wreckage of the Nadezhda, or Hope, helicopter in the Valley of the Geysers on the Kamchatka peninsula in Russia’s far east.
The debris was found on July 17, one day after the accident, and around eight kilometers from the Uzon volcano. Images from the scene of the helicopter crash revealed burned ground and bent metal.
The cause of the crash in poor weather is under investigation.
‘Unfortunately, none [of the three people on board] survived the crash,’ said the Russian Emergencies Ministry.
NTV reported that rescuers said the conditions were not good for flying at the time of the crash. It said a criminal investigation has been launched, but it was unclear who was under investigation at the time.
Malinovskii’s death was reported by the Russian Biathlon Association.
‘Multiple world junior champion Igor Malinovsky has died. He loved biathlon and aviation. After completing his sports career, Igor became a pilot and worked in his native Kamchatka,’ a statement from the association read.
‘We would like to express our deepest condolences to the family and friends.’
Vladimir Drachev, president of the association, said: ‘It is a tragedy for our sport and our country. Igor Malinovsky was extraordinarily talented, after all there aren’t that many five-time world champions – albeit in youth classes.
‘He was stronger than any of his peers. Unfortunately, he has chosen a profession that involves such great risk. We mourn the loss of a wonderful man.’
The peninsula, which is roughly the same area as California, is home to one of the largest densities of brown bears on the globe, with an estimated 10,000 to 14,000 of the carnivores.
The bears used to be widely distributed over the area, but they have now been driven into the more isolated and rural places.
The bears often consume fish, plants, insects, and other smaller creatures rather than going for people. Bears, on the other hand, are opportunistic hunters, so they make the most of any food that is available to them.