MOSCOW, Oct. 4 (Xinhua) -- One of three volcano climbers falling off the slope in Russia's Kamchatka Krai has died, according to authorities on Saturday.
Earlier on Saturday, reports said that a group of three mountaineers fell while ascending the Vilyuchinsky Volcano. At 18:22 local time (0522 GMT), a helicopter carrying rescuers and medical personnel was dispatched to the scene.
According to the Emergency Situations Ministry for the Kamchatka Krai, the woman who fell alongside the deceased remains in critical condition.
Rescuers have reached the third person, who was located on a high slope and unharmed, said the ministry, adding, "Evacuation efforts have begun to lower her to an altitude of 1,500 meters, where medical staff from the Disaster Medicine Center are waiting."
Extra search-and-rescue teams and volunteers from Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky have also joined rescue efforts at the site. "In total, more than 40 people are involved in the rescue operation," the ministry said. ■
