Eight climbers have died on the highest active volcano in Russia’s Far East, the Interfax news agency reported Monday.
A party of 12 climbers from seven Russian regions, including two Novosibirsk-based guides, set off to climb the Klyuchevskaya Sopka volcano on the Kamchatka Peninsula last week.
Six people fell to their deaths, Interfax reported Sunday, citing investigators.
A guide located on the volcano reported two more fatalities on a satellite phone, Roman Vasilevsky, the regional administration’s deputy governor, told the news agency Monday without identifying the cause of death.
At least two rescue groups have been dispatched to find two survivors at a height of 3,300 meters, according to the RIA Novosti news agency.
The first group is expected to reach the destination by midnight Monday, the second by Wednesday.
In addition, a guide and another survivor are stranded at a height of 4,100 meters, according to Interfax.
Klyuchevskaya Sopka has been an active volcano since its first recorded eruption in 1697.
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