Tragedy in Kamchatka: CFO of Russian Football Union among 22 dead

Three crew members and 19 passengers were aboard the Mi-8 helicopter. The wreckage had been located on Sunday. No one survived, according to Reuters. As reported by Russian media on Saturday, one of the passengers was the Chief Financial Officer of the Russian Football Union, Arseniy Zamyatin, along with his wife Polina.

Since Saturday, searches for the Mi-8 helicopter with 22 people on board have been ongoing in Kamchatka. Weather conditions hindered the operation. On Sunday, the wreckage was found. Reuters reported that none of the 22 people on board survived, citing Russian news agencies.

The Russian Football Union (RFU) 's Chief Financial Officer, Arseniy Zamyatin, was on board with his wife, Polina. On Saturday, the union's press office stated that Zamyatin was on holiday in Kamchatka with his wife and planned to take a helicopter tour to one of the volcanoes.

The helicopter disappeared after taking off from a base near the Vachkazhets volcano in eastern Russia's southern part of the Kamchatka Peninsula. It was supposed to reach the village of Nikolayevka. Over the weekend, Kamchatka was struck by a cyclone accompanied by strong wind and rain. The causes of the crash are now being investigated.

According to preliminary data, the cause of the accident was pilot error. In poor visibility conditions, the helicopter crashed into a hill, reported by the Russian service rtvi.com, citing a source from the TASS agency.

Rescue services reported that the crew did not report any aircraft malfunctions. The Mi-8 is a twin-engine helicopter designed in the 1960s, frequently used in Russian air transport.