MOSCOW, August 15. /TASS/. Six people died in a crash of a Mil Mi-8 in the Khabarovsk territory in Russia’s Far East, the Russian aviation authority, Rosaviatsiya, told TASS on Saturday.

The helicopter of the Vostok Aviation Company made a flight between two settlements. On board were three members of the crew and 13 passengers.

The helicopter was due to arrive in the final destination by 10:20 Moscow time, but the crew did not communicate in due course. After that, two Mi-8 helicopters and an Antonov-26 aircraft began searching for the missing helicopter.

"Later on, the captain managed to communicate the company and reported the helicopter crashed three kilometres to the destination and sunk," the source said, adding according to preliminary information three members of the crew and seven passengers survived the crash, and six passengers died.

The authority said rescuers still could not get to the site of the crash due to a heavy fog. Local authorities are contacting sea rescuers to have sea vessels join the rescue operation.