• Tour bus slips into ice crack on Lake Baikal
• Seven tourists killed, Chinese consulate notified

Seven tourists, reportedly Chinese, were killed Friday after a tour bus slid into an ice fissure on Lake Baikal in Siberia, local authorities said.

The regional branch of Russia’s Ministry of Emergency Situations said on social media that the bus fell into a three-meter-wide ice crack and sank completely. “Rescuers inspected the site using an underwater camera and recovered the bodies of seven people,” it added.

Authorities have not officially confirmed the victims’ nationalities, but Irkutsk Governor Igor Kobzev said they were foreign citizens and that “the Chinese consulate has been notified.”

Kobzev noted that one tourist managed to escape before the bus sank, and the vehicle was later found 18 meters below the lake’s surface.

Lake Baikal, the world’s deepest lake, is a major tourist attraction in Siberia, located north of Mongolia, and popular with Chinese visitors.

In winter, the lake freezes, forming spectacular crystal-like columns and creating the distinctive cracking sound of waves trapped beneath the ice.

Russian authorities maintain monitored ice roads on the lake, open only to certain vehicles depending on conditions, while driving elsewhere on the lake is officially prohibited.

Governor Kobzev confirmed that the road had not been cleared for use and that a criminal investigation has been opened into the incident.