A MI-8 helicopter vanished from radar, plunged into the surface of Lake Onega, and sank beneath the ice. This information came from the Telegram channel SHOT, which has been closely tracking the incident.
The tragedy cost the lives of the entire crew, with responders confirming there were no survivors among the personnel onboard.
According to SHOT’s reporting, rescuers located a portion of the helicopter’s fuselage and a sizeable breach within the search zone, situated roughly 20 kilometers from the village of Derevyannoye. Analysts believe the machine broke through the ice during its descent, collapsing into the lake bed and triggering a failure in the emergency beacon. That malfunction complicated and slowed the initial search efforts, according to the team on the ground.
With depths in this region reaching around 50 meters, authorities indicated that rescue operations would continue at first light, leveraging divers to reach the submerged wreck and gather more information about the accident’s exact sequence and cause.
Earlier reports suggested that the Mi-8 was en route to Vytegra to participate in competitions linked to the international conference “Russian Ice – 2024.” The helicopter crews listed for the event were published prior to the incident, providing details about the teams planned to take part in the gathering.
There were prior incidents in the city of St. Petersburg involving a collision between two ships, which were noted as separate events in the regional news cycle and were tracked by local authorities and media outlets. (Source attribution: SHOT and local emergency services)