ROME, July 25. /TASS/. A woman who died in a helicopter crash near Italy’s Gorgona Island has been identified as Russian marathon runner Yekaterina Karkhina, 28, the Il Tirreno newspaper wrote on Thursday.

According to the paper, the athlete was travelling together with Maxim Sychev who is considered missing.

Karkhina repeatedly competed in marathon races in Italy and won some of them.

According to the Italian media, the Russians’ private helicopter, en route from Lake Como to Sardinia’s Olbia, crashed into the sea near Gorgona Island in Livorno province after a short stopover in the province of Massa Carrara. An investigation into the crash is underway.