The tourists who died on Lake Baikal did not arrange an excursion with tour operators

Tourists who arrived in Russia from the People's Republic of China (PRC), who died as a result of their car falling into the waters of Lake Baikal, did not arrange an excursion through tour operators. This was announced on February 20 by the Association of Tour Operators of Russia (ATOR).

"The Chinese tourists who died on Lake Baikal did not arrange an excursion through tour operators, but agreed to travel directly with a local resident," the organization's Telegram channel says.

The text noted that the route along which the sunken vehicle was moving was not, according to preliminary data, coordinated with representatives of travel agencies and rescuers. The listed authorized persons, as explained in the association, regularly monitor the width of the ice on the routes laid through the lake. In the area where the tragedy occurred, the ice did not gain sufficient strength.

In connection with the incident, ATOR announced the temporary suspension by tour operators of the use of routes on the ice cover of the reservoir. All tourists will be transported to their desired locations by land.

The Holy Sea does not tolerate intruders: UAZ with tourists fell through the ice on Lake Baikal

The car went under water at Cape Sagan-Khushun, several people were killed.

Information about the failure of a car with tourists under the ice cover appeared on the same day. Later it became known about the discovery of the bodies of seven people using an underwater camera. It was noted that their car landed in a fault, the width of which was 3 m and the depth was 18 m.

On February 20, Denis Kuznetsov, a tour guide, told Izvestia that Chinese tourists did not travel to their chosen area legally. According to him, the driver of the drowned car, Nikolai Dorzheev, was a local resident who lived near the island of Olkhon, near which the tragedy occurred. Artur Abdyukhanov, head of the press service of the Russian Union of Travel Industry (PCT), who also spoke with Izvestia, called hovercraft the safest way to travel on the ice of Lake Baikal.

All important news is on the Izvestia channel in the MAX messenger.