One dead in Russian volcano accident

Moscow, Oct 4 (IANS) One of three volcano climbers falling off the slope in Russia's Kamchatka Krai has died, according to authorities on Saturday.

Earlier on Saturday, reports said that a group of three mountaineers fell while ascending the Vilyuchinsky Volcano. At 18:22 local time (0522 GMT), a helicopter carrying rescuers and medical personnel was dispatched to the scene.

According to the Emergency Situations Ministry for the Kamchatka Krai, the woman who fell alongside the deceased remains in critical condition, Xinhua news agency reported.

Rescuers have reached the third person, who was located on a high slope and unharmed, said the ministry, adding, "Evacuation efforts have begun to lower her to an altitude of 1,500 metres, where medical staff from the Disaster Medicine Center are waiting."

Extra search-and-rescue teams and volunteers from Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky have also joined rescue efforts at the site. "In total, more than 40 people are involved in the rescue operation," the ministry said.

Meanwhile, the Kronotsky volcano on Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula spewed ash to a height of 9.2 kilometres above sea level on Saturday, local authorities said.

The ash ejection occurred at 11:50 am local time (2350 GMT Friday), sending an ash plume stretching about 85 kilometres to the south and southeast of the volcano, the Kamchatka Volcanic Eruption Response Team said on its Telegram channel.

A red aviation color code was issued, indicating a high hazard for both the local and international air traffic.

The Kronotsky volcano is located about 225 kilometres from the regional capital of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky and 10 kilometres east of Lake Kronotskoye.

On Friday, an earthquake with a magnitude of 6.0 jolted off the east coast of Kamchatka at 1607 GMT, the GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences said.

The epicentre, with a depth of 10.0 km, was initially determined to be at 51.71 degrees north latitude and 159.79 degrees east longitude.

--IANS

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