Five tourists from Moscow have been reported missing in the remote Sayan mountain range in southern Siberia, Russia's Emergencies Ministry said in a statement on Saturday.
The tourists, three men and two women, went missing during a hiking trip on Thursday after setting out from the city of Krasnoyarsk.
"We have a search team ready in the Irkutsk region," the Ministry said. The rescue service will also send a helicopter to the area.
However, Krasnoyarsk's emergencies administration does not rule out that the tourists have chosen a long route which takes about 20 days, its spokesman said.
The search team will start its work if the tourists do not show up within this Monday.
