[WHEN ANIMALS ATTACK] Ferocious Wild Bears Drag Then Eat Champion Biathlete And Two Injured Passengers In Shocking Attack After Helicopter Crash

[GEARJUNKIE] Russian authorities confirmed the deaths of world junior biathlon champion Igor Malinovsky, who was also a helicopter pilot, and a wealthy couple aboard the aircraft. Wild bears dragged three bodies from the wreckage of a downed helicopter, mauled, and ate them, Russian media NTV reported. [FULLSTORY]

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• ADDITIONAL COVERAGE|PHOTOS: Wealthy Russian Tourists Mauled By Bears After Helicopter Crash [YAHOO]

• ADDITIONAL COVERAGE | MORE PHOTOS: The Trio Got Into Mortal Trouble On July 16 While Enjoying The Elite Tourist Trip Over The Region Known For Its Bear Infested Woodlands [SUNUK]

[METROUK] Two Russian tourists and a sports star were killed in a helicopter crash before being ‘dragged away and gnawed by brown bears’.

World junior biathlon champion Igor Malinovsky, 25, died alongside Zoya Kaygorodova, a businesswoman in her mid-30s who had organised the £4,250 trip, and mobile phone company boss Sergey Kolesnyak, 39.

Mr Malinovsky was piloting the helicopter in the Kamchatka peninsula in far east Siberia when it crashed on Saturday.

The trio lost communication due to bad weather, before the Robinson chopper, named Nadezhda or Hope, caught fire, according to reports.

Rescuers found the charred remains the next day, with footage showing the scene of the tragedy. [FULLSTORY]

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