Chinese Tourists Die in Lake Baikal Ice Tragedy
Monday, 2026/02/23161 words3 minutes132 reads
A devastating accident occurred on Friday at Lake Baikal, the world's deepest lake located in Siberia, Russia. A minibus carrying eight Chinese tourists and a Russian driver plunged through the ice into the freezing water below.
The vehicle fell into a three-meter-wide ice fissure. The water at that location was 18 meters deep, making rescue efforts extremely challenging. Divers had to use underwater cameras to locate and recover the bodies.
One Chinese tourist managed to escape from the sinking vehicle and survived. However, seven tourists, including a 14-year-old child, and the driver tragically died. Governor Igor Kobzev expressed his condolences to the victims' families and emphasized that traveling on the lake's ice is currently prohibited and extremely dangerous.
Authorities have opened a criminal investigation into the incident. Reports suggest the driver may have been operating tours without a proper license. The governor warned that despite this tragedy, several other people had to be rescued from similar dangerous situations over the weekend.
