Some 13 missing after snowmobile trip in Russia’s Perm region

Russian investigators have launched a criminal inquiry after 13 people went missing during a snowmobile trip in the Oslyanka Mountain area of the Perm region, local authorities said.

According to the Investigative Directorate of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation for the Perm region, the case was opened to determine the circumstances surrounding the disappearance of a group of tourists, Caliber.Az reports via Russian media. 

Investigators said that on December 13, a group of 15 tourists independently set out on snowmobiles toward Mount Oslyanka. Later the same day, two members of the group, who descended the mountain ahead of the others, managed to return to a nearby village. The whereabouts of the remaining 13 people remain unknown.

A large-scale search and rescue operation is underway, involving drones, all-terrain vehicles, and a helicopter. Authorities said more than 100 personnel and 46 units of equipment have been deployed to search the mountainous and heavily forested area.

As part of the investigation, officials have inspected the recreation center where the group stayed prior to the trip and questioned the two tourists who returned, as well as relatives of those still missing. Search teams are examining the group’s planned route and surrounding taiga terrain covering more than 63 square kilometers.

The investigation and search efforts are continuing as authorities work to locate the missing tourists.

By Sabina Mammadli