KHABAROVSK. Nov 29 (Interfax-AVN) - An AN-12 Cub plane of the 11th air force and air defense army has joined the search for the MI-8 Hip helicopter that went missing in the Khabarovsk territory on Monday, the Emergencies Ministry's press service told Interfax-Military News Agency.
"In addition to the crew, the plane carries three rescuers with parachutes," a press service official said.
The crew of a civilian MI-8 was searching for the missing helicopter until recently, he noted.
Two MI-8 helicopters of the Russian Defense Ministry are ready to join the search, a duty officer of the search and rescue service in the Far East told Interfax-AVN.
According to the regional search and rescue service, the missing helicopter is owned by the Komsomolsk-on-Amur Aircraft Production Association. It took off from the Zengi airfield to patrol forests.
The helicopter landed on the Evoron airfield, 100 km northwest of Komsomolsk-on-Amur, at 3:39 a.m. Moscow time (2339 GMT), the officer said.
"The crew was supposed to leave for the Beryozovaya landing pad at 5:10 a.m. Moscow time (0110 GMT), but failed to go on the air," he noted.
An AN-2 Colt plane that was flying in the area of Evoron made several circles over the airfield but did not find the helicopter. It was not found on the route from Evoron to Beryozovaya either.
An identical helicopter of the regional search and rescue service took off to search for the missing aircraft at 7:03 a.m. Moscow time (0303 GMT).
According to preliminary reports, the missing helicopter carried a crew of three.