Rescuers have found a fifth body suspected to be from a Mi-2 helicopter which ditched into the sea two days ago near the western coast of the Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia`s Far East.

"The body has been taken by a Mi-8 helicopter ... to Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky where it will be shortly identified," the local emergencies department said.

The Mi-2 circled the village of Ustyevoye Thursday and suddenly crashed into the Sea of Okhotsk about 100 meters (330 feet) off the coast.

The body of the pilot, Yury Khudrivy, was discovered at the scene by two towboats. Three hours later rescuers found the bodies of two passengers who had been washed ashore, and a fourth victim was discovered Saturday.

The search is continuing as it is yet unclear how many people were on board the helicopter, which belonged to a private insurance company. Officials said it was making an uncoordinated flight.

It is not the first crash involving a Mi-2 helicopter recently. Late last year two people died when a Mi-2 helicopter went missing in eastern Russia. In December 2005, four people died and two were seriously injured in the northwestern region of European Russia when a Mi-2 crashed while flying over a natural gas pipeline.
sections: Accidents, Region News
areas: Siberian region