Thirty five rescuers began the search-and-rescue operation Thursday combing the taiga area, where the helicopter is presumed to have disappeared, but was called off as the search efforts were complicated by strong winds and heavy snowfall.
"The weather in the [rescue] operation area has improved giving us a possibility to search from the air," the official said adding that currently two Mi-8 helicopters were in the air and an An-2 plane was ready to take off.
The two helicopters are backed up by 75 rescuers on the ground divided into five groups combing the presumed crash area.
A source in the local emergencies ministry department said Thursday that the missing Mi-2 helicopter was flown by an experienced test pilot carrying the president and vice president of the small aircraft association Flag on board.
The helicopter was last spotted Tuesday evening. Officials said it may have made an emergency landing in bad weather. Local witnesses confirmed seeing an Mi-2 flying at a low altitude just above tree tops Tuesday.
The Mi-2 is an eight-passenger utility helicopter with a flight range of about 600 kilometers (370 miles).
