Local Russian politician dies after falling ‘about a kilometre’ from ACTIVE VOLCANO in country’s picturesque Kamchatka region

A small-town Russian politician has died in the country’s Far East after falling down Klyuchevskaya Sopka, the highest mountain in Siberia and the largest active volcano in Eurasia, his friend revealed on Wednesday morning.

Andrey Zakalin served as a deputy on the city council of Zheleznogorsk, more than 3,000km east of Moscow in the center of Siberia. Along with Zakalin, who was tackling the volcano among a large group of experienced climbers, another man named Alexander Filyayev also passed away.

The accident occurred when the group was at an altitude of around 4,100 to 4,200 meters, and according to local news website Taiga, he fell “about a kilometer.”

The death was announced by Alexey Kulesh, a friend of Zakalin and deputy speaker of Krasnoyarsk’s regional legislative assembly.

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“A colleague, a friend, a kind and sympathetic man. Andrey Zakalin. Deceased,” he wrote. “Andrey lived life to the fullest. He did not save himself ‘for later.’”

According to Valeria Vanina, a participant in the 12-person climbing group, Zakalin died trying to save Filyayev.

“Alexander fell first, and Vladimir and Andrey went to see if they could help him,” she told the newspaper Izvestia. “They found Alexander’s corpse, and then, apparently, Andrey fell too.”

Vanina also noted that the group meets every year and that all the participants had significant experience.

Klyuchevskaya Sopka, thought by locals to be a holy site, is the highest active volcano in Eurasia and part of the Kamchatka UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Kamchatka peninsula, an eight-hour flight from Moscow, is known for its natural beauty. The region has around 160 volcanos.

Earlier this year, daring Russian hikers made headlines after cooking sausages on cooling lava on the very same mountain.

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