Helicopter goes missing in Russia’s Far East with 22 people believed onboard

Rescuers are searching for a helicopter that went missing in Russia’s far east with 22 people on board. The Mi-8 helicopter took off on Saturday close to the Vachkazhets volcano in the Kamchatka region, but did not arrive at its destination as scheduled, Russia’s Federal Air Transport Agency said in a statement. It said it believed that 19 passengers and three crew members were on board. The Mi-8 is a two-engine helicopter designed in the 1960s. It is widely used in Russia, where crashes have been frequent, as well as in neighboring countries and many other nations.