Rescuers preparing to save tourists trapped in the Altai mountains

Rescuers from the Emergencies Ministry are preparing to evacuate tourists in the Altai Mountains who were trapped by an avalanche, the ministry's information department reported.

"Five tourists from the Irkutsk Region (the regional center of Siberia), who were not registered with the local rescue service, were swept by an avalanche as they were climbing Belukha mountain, three of them were injured," the ministry's spokesman said.

At present, the tourists are near the Mentu-Airy glacier on the western slope of the mountain. If the weather permits, they will be evacuated today by an Altai rescue service helicopter.