The bodies of the other three group members have been found, and taken to Hotan, in the Xinjiang autonomous area, for identification. Two Chinese military helicopters left Hotan airport early this morning for the site where the bodies were found.
The group of six Russians set off on August 21 on a canoe trip down the Yurungkax River, in a remote area of the Kunlun Mountains, one of the longest mountain chains in Asia. The group failed to meet their interpreter as agreed on September 2.
On September 6, the Russian Canoe Federation requested help from the Russian Embassy in China to find the missing canoeists. Over 1,000 rescuers have been involved in the search. The joint Russian-Chinese rescue operation was interrupted on Monday due to a sandstorm.
Earlier, China's Xinhua news agency quoted a local Russian-language interpreter as saying the Russians might have been swept away by landslides or attacked by bandits who operate in the area. The agency said the youngest missing tourist was 25, and the oldest 47.
The agency identified the men as Sergei Chernik, Andrei Pautov, Vladimir Smetannikov, Dmitry Tishchenko, and Alexander Zveryev.
