9 climbers die on Russian volcano
Nine climbers tragically died this week on a journey up a 4,750 metre high volcano in Russia. Klyuchevskaya Sopka is the highest volcano in Eurasia. Five of the nine people who tragically perished fell to their deaths on Sunday. Russian officials reported that another three died the next morning. This is out of a group of 12 people who had been climbing in the northeastern Kamchatka peninsula region of Russia since August 30.
Rough weather conditions reportedly stalled attempts by rescuers to collect the three survivors. Strong winds prevented a helicopter from landing on the volcano Sunday. But the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations reported that as of Tuesday morning the survivors had been transported by helicopter to the nearest village.
Russian media reported that some of the rescue group remained on the volcano after the survivors were evacuated. They would decide how to evacuate the dead bodies.
Rescuers warned that the mountain is considered particularly dangerous to climbers due to the altitude, and the risk of a volcanic eruption. The mountain is made up of mounds of volcanic rocks mixed with snow and ice.
Russian state media reported that a criminal case has been launched to look into the cause of the deaths.
