Russian emergency helicopter crashes in Karelia lake, three dead

An Mi-8 helicopter belonging to Russia's emergencies ministry crashed into a lake in the country's northern region of Karelia, killing all three crew members on board, the authorities said on Monday.

"The plane was on a training flight," the ministry said on the Telegram messaging app. "The helicopter was flown by an experienced crew with thousands of flight hours."

The wreckage of the helicopter, which disappeared from radar late on Sunday, was found 11 km (6.8 miles) from the shore of the Lake Onega, Europe's second-largest lake, at a depth of 50 m (164 feet).

The ministry said divers and a remote-controlled underwater vehicle were being deployed. Separately, TASS cited regional governor Artur Parfenchikov as saying the crew members have died.

The Karelia region is divided into two parts: the Finnish Karelia region and the Russian Republic of Karelia in the northwestern part of Russia, between the White and Baltic seas, where the helicopter crashed.