Tourists stranded near Kamchatka volcano evacuated after heavy rains

The evacuation of tourists stranded in the Tolbachik volcano area in Russia’s Kamchatka region has begun following heavy rainfall that disrupted road access.

The tourists will be evacuated by helicopter from the “Dead Forest” site. From there, they are expected to be transported by air to a road-accessible area and then taken by bus to Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky.

A group of 79 tourists is currently walking from the Kleshnya area toward the “Dead Forest” site.

Three buses have been dispatched to transport the tourists from the Krapivnaya road junction to Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. Up to 115 people are expected to be evacuated in total.

Among the tourists stranded in the volcano area are Azerbaijani citizen Tatyana Dolivets, as well as nationals of Russia, China, Belarus and Israel.

Earlier, the Azerbaijani Embassy in Russia and Azerbaijan’s Consulate General in Yekaterinburg contacted the relevant local authorities, as well as representatives of the Azerbaijani community operating in Kamchatka, and have been closely monitoring the situation.

The tourists were cut off from road transport after heavy rains caused a river to overflow. The resulting flooding washed away approximately 30 kilometers of the road.