11:00, 9 May 2009

Rescuers look for Russian students who disappeared in Abkhazia

On May 7, the Ministry for Emergencies (MfE) of Russia was addressed by parents of students from the Vladimir Polytechnic Institute, who had left for Abkhazia to make kayak rafting, but failed to leave the place back on due date.

The parents said that on April 26 their children, members of the amateur kayak club left for Abkhazia by Moscow-Adler train.

"The students safely reached Abkhazia, where they addressed the Department for Emergencies asking to allow them to raft down the Bzyb River," the "Interfax" quotes a spokesman of Russian MIA.

On May 8, the students should have left Adler by the train, to which they had booked but never bought their tickets. The young athletes never telephoned to their relatives.

According to preliminary data, the group of kayak rowers could include some 20-26 persons, as reported by the ITAR-TASS. A search of the missing students is underway.

See earlier report: "In Abkhazia, teenager, thought as kidnapped, comes home".