Czech tourist's body remains on Klyuchevskoi until weather clears up

The body of the Czech tourist is to remain on the slope of the Klyuchevskoi Volcano, Russia's Far East, where rescuers have left it until weather permits them to remove it, reported a source in the Chief Department of Civil Defence and Emergencies /CDCDE/.

So far, heavy rockfall and underground tremors have made it impossible to remove the body, which remains fixed on the slope about 2,500 meters above sea level. As soon as the weather clears up, it will be picked up by a helicopter and taken to Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky.

Meanwhile, the group of Czech mountaineers has left the base camp and is descending to the foot of the mountain, from where it will be taken to the regional center.

The emergency signal came on Tuesday, when a Czech tourist scaling the volcano in the company of 20 compatriots was hit by a falling stone and suffered a severe head wound about 4,000 meters up the slope. A helicopter was sent to the rescue but could not reach the tourists because of clouds shrouding the mountain. A mountaineering rescue team was more successful.

The scaling was organized by the tourist company Sheveluch. The group had not been registered with the CDCDE, nor had it coordinated its route with the local authorities, which made it more difficult for rescuers to reach the site of the emergency.

The group was ascending the mountain accompanied by a Czech guide, who had no exact information as to the conditions and relief of the Kamchatka Peninsula, said RIA Novosti's source.

The Klyuchevskoi is the highest active volcano in Europe and Asia, rising 4,835 meters above sea level. It has been active for some time now, with spurts of steam and ash reaching 2,000 meters above the central crater. Seismic stations register a large number of surface quakes and tremors about 30 kilometers below the surface. Experts say a heavy eruption is due later in the year.

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