Russian helicopter crashes into sea

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MOSCOW: A Russian helicopter has crashed into Sea of Okhotsk in the far east and five of the 16 people on board were missing and presumed dead.

The pilot reported by satellite phone that he and 10 others made it to a tourist base on the Tugur Peninsula.

Investigators said the Mi-8 helicopter took off on Saturday from the Polina Osipenko village in the Khabarovsk region and was scheduled to land near a lake on the Tugur Peninsula, but crashed into the sea.

The cause of the crash was not yet known.