A helicopter crash that killed two wealthy Russian tourists and a former sports star reportedly turned gruesome after their bodies were mauled by brown bears.
Last Saturday (local time), world junior biathlon champion Igor Malinovsky was flying a helicopter in Kamchatka, Siberia with well-known businesswoman Zoya Kaygorodova and Tele2 mobile phone company executive Sergey Kolesnyak.
Whilst in the air, the Mi-8 chopper lost communication suddenly due to bad weather.
The chopper reportedly caught fire before it crashed onto the ground and killed all three passengers on board.
Russian channel 5TV reported human remains were found but had been taken from the site in Kamchatka, which is reportedly known as a "bear-infested peninsula".
"The remains of dead tourists after the crash of a Robinson helicopter in Kamchatka were dragged away by bears," 5TV reported.
5TV also reported the three bodies had been "tormented by animals".
The remains of the charred helicopter were found 13km from the Uzon volcano, located in the eastern part of Kamchatka.
Malinovsky had trained as a pilot and was working for one of his father's companies by taking tourists sightseeing via helicopter.
Kaygorodova organised the ₽29,811 (NZ$8185.14) helicopter ride for them and Kolensnyak, 5TV reported.
Although the helicopter ride had been organised by Kaygorodova, Governor of the Kamchatka Territory Vladimir Solodov claimed the tourists did not register their flight.
"The helicopter with two passengers and a pilot was on a private flight, the group was not registered as tourists.
"Yesterday in the area of the helicopter crash site there was low cloud cover and unfavourable weather for flights," Solodov said.
He said authorities have launched an investigation into what caused the crash.
