(Image for representation) (Image for representation) 
A search operation is underway in Russia's far east after a helicopter carrying 22 people went missing on Saturday.
The Mi-8 helicopter took off from the Kamchatka region but failed to reach its destination as scheduled, according to Russia's Federal Air Transport Agency. The agency believes that 19 passengers and three crew members were on board.
The Mi-8 is a two-engine helicopter designed in the 1960s, widely used in Russia, where crashes have been frequent, as well as in neighbouring countries and many other nations.
This incident comes just weeks after another Mi-8 helicopter crashed in Kamchatka, although no fatalities were reported. The helicopter operated by Vityaz-Aero company with 13 passengers and three crew hard-landed near a lake on the south of Kamchatka peninsula, the local emergency service said.
(More details awaited)kawbet