At least five people were killed when a Mi-8 helicopter crashed overnight into a lake in northern Russia, authorities said Sunday.
Five people were found dead, Xinhua quoted Vladimir Markin, a spokesperson of the Russian Investigative Committee as saying, as divers have started to search for victims at Lake Munozero in Murmansk region.
Earlier in the day, the Ministry of Emergency Situations said 18 people, including five crew members, were aboard the ill-fated aircraft, among whom two survived with injuries while others were missing.
Some media reports put the number of people on board at 19.
Investigators pointed to equipment failure and bad weather as likely causes of the crash.