KRASNOYARSK, September 23 (RIA Novosti) - Rescuers are searching a lake in Russia's far north for seven people who went missing after a storm caused their boat to capsize, local authorities said on Wednesday.
The privately owned Yaroslavets-type vessel sank on Tuesday in Lake Pyasino, 80 km (49 miles) from Norilsk, Siberia's northernmost city.
"There were 12 people on board the boat and five have been rescued," a spokesman for the Krasnoyarsk emergency department told RIA Novosti.
Oksana Gorbunova, a spokeswoman for the local prosecutor, said investigators and rescuers were initially unable to reach the scene due to poor weather. A rescue helicopter only managed to fly to the lake on Wednesday.
"According to those who were rescued, when the boat began sinking, four people were trapped in the deckhouse and another three were still on board. It is unclear what has happened to them," the ministry spokesman said.
He said the survivors were found in two lifeboats.
Lake Pyasino, with an area of 735 sq km and an average depth is of 4 meters, is a rich in fish. It is ice-covered from October until spring.
