Chopper joins search for missing Russians

A military helicopter left Urumqi, capital of Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, yesterday morning to join the search for six Russians missing in Hotan.

Hotan is 1,000 km away from Urumqi. The chopper was scheduled to reach the spot early on Sunday but poor weather conditions forced officials to defer its flight, according to the Hotan rescue headquarters.

By Sunday evening, around 1,100 people, including armed police, farmers and herdsman, had searched a 406-km stretch in the middle and lower reaches of the Yurungkax River for the six men and their two guides, who set out on a rafting expedition nearly three weeks ago.