Around 100 tourists are stranded near the Plosky Tolbachik volcano on Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula after the flooded Studenaya River washed away the only access road out, according to Russian news outlet SHOT.
The trapped travelers include citizens of Russia, China, Belarus, Israel, and Azerbaijan. Members of the stranded party reported having only one day of food supplies remaining while local emergency services assess their options.
Tatiana Dolivets, a tourist from Azerbaijan, said her 16-person group had traveled to the Kleshnya ranger post in a heavy Ural all-terrain vehicle. She explained that the Studenaya River subsequently overflowed its banks, completely destroying a 30-kilometre stretch of road leading back to safety.
The Kleshnya cordon serves as a key field base for hikers exploring the volcanic plateau in Kamchatka, a remote peninsula in the Russian Far East. Heavy six-wheel Ural trucks are standard transport for navigating the region's rugged dirt tracks, but even off-road vehicles cannot cross the washed-out section.
Stranded hikers face freezing weather and food shortages
Travel conditions around the volcano are worsening rapidly. Dolivets reported that the primary passage in the volcanic zone has narrowed significantly and is heavily cluttered with fallen trees, while mobile phone reception is almost entirely absent across the area.
Several members of the tour group became wet during the journey and are at risk of hypothermia in the cold mountain environment. Infrastructure at the outpost is sparse, and the small ranger cabin at Kleshnya lacks sufficient space to shelter all 100 trapped people.
Concerned relatives of the stranded tourists have contacted Russia's Ministry of Emergency Situations, known as EMERCOM, along with the regional prosecutor's office and the local governor. They requested immediate assistance, asking authorities to dispatch emergency rations and warm clothing to the site.
However, rescue officials stated that a helicopter will only be sent to the remote volcano if there is a direct threat to human life or an immediate need for emergency medical care.
Volcanic activity and wilderness risks in Kamchatka
Plosky Tolbachik is an active complex volcano in the Klyuchevskaya volcanic cluster, rising more than 3,000 metres above sea level. It is renowned for its vast lava fields and scenic caldera, drawing wilderness trekking groups from across the globe.
The stranding comes amid broader geological unrest in the area. Russian emergency reports noted that a structural wall of the neighboring Klyuchevskoy volcano recently collapsed, sending rock fragments into the Apakhonchich chute and triggering hours of pyroclastic rockslides down the sides of the gorge.
