Search teams, including divers, have recovered two bodies from a lake in Kazakhstan where a military-operated helicopter crashed more than two weeks ago, the Ministry of Defense said Sunday.
“Currently, an identification procedure is being carried out with the participation of competent authorities,” the ministry said on Telegram. It said the search operation was being conducted “around the clock” and involved personnel and resources from multiple government ministries and agencies. Authorities have said three people were on the chopper.
Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Emergency Situations launched an intensive search and rescue operation after the EC145 helicopter was reported missing on July 25 in the area of Otar, a village west of Almaty. Satellite detection methods spotted oily water on Lake Sorbulak, about 40 kilometers northwest of Almaty, and searchers quickly found aircraft debris believed to belong to Kazakhstan’s Air Defense Forces.
Searchers have used echo sounders as well as aerial and underwater drones in the operation.
The Eurocopter EC145 is a twin-engine, light utility aircraft.