ISTANBUL

At least 17 people were found dead Sunday at the crash site of a helicopter that went missing the previous day in Russia's far eastern region of Kamchatka.

"In Kamchatka, rescuers of the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations have been delivered to the site of the helicopter crash ... 17 bodies have already been found, the search continues," the ministry said on Telegram.

It said nine rescuers from the ministry's search and rescue team in the region were currently at the crash site.

On Saturday, a civilian Mi-8 helicopter with 22 people on board disappeared in the far eastern Kamchatka region, according to the Russian Federal Air Transport Agency.

The missing aircraft, which was carrying tourists, was traveling from the Vachkajec volcano in the southern part of the Kamchatka Peninsula to the village of Nikolayevka further east — a distance of about 25 kilometers (about 15.5 miles), the agency said in a statement.