No one survived a Mi-8 chopper crash in the Khabarovsk Region in Russia’s Far East, the Russian Emergencies Ministry told TASS.

"According to Rosaviatsiya (Russia’s air transport regulator - TASS), no one survived the crash. Russian Emergencies Ministry rescuers jointly with investigators are analyzing fragments of the aircraft and looking for flight recorders at the site of the crash to establish the cause behind it," the ministry said.

According to preliminary information, five bodies have been found at the scene, the Eastern Interregional Transport Investigative Directorate of the Russian Investigative Committee reported.

The helicopter disappeared off radars while en route from Okhotsk in the Khabarovsk Region to Magadan, emergencies services told TASS on July 14. It was discovered crashed near Cape Gadikan, 130 km northeast of the locality of Okhotsk. There were five people on board, three crew and two maintenance engineers, preliminary data showed.

A criminal investigation into the accident has been launched, the Far Eastern Transport Prosecutor’s Office said.