11 Children & 1 Adult Dead, 36 Saved After Lake Storm in Russia

According to the Russian Emegencies Ministry, the bodies of at least twelve people were found and 36 tourists have been rescued.  A tourist group, consisting mostly of children, has been caught in a strong lake storm in Karelia, northwest Russia, according to the authorities.

Preliminary reports state that the group consisted mostly of 12 to 15-year-olds, all of them from Moscow, according to the Moscow mayor Sergey Sobyanin. ​Reportedly there were two boats and one raft, and according to preliminary reports both boats capsized during the storm.  Thirty six people have been rescued so far, according to EMERCOM. The fate of four tourists is still unknown.

“Thirty six have been rescued so far, twenty five of them are now in the island, eleven more — in Kudoma village,” an EMERCOM source told RIA Novosti.

“We have found eleven bodies, the rescue operation is underway for at least four more,” Fedor Polshin, head of EMERCOM’s North-Western Region press-service, told RIA Novosti.

​The incident took place at the Lake Syamozero, a large freshwater lake in the Republic of Karelia.

​Russian General Prosecutor’s office has opened a criminal investigation. The head of the Republic of Karelia has taken off to the site.