Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on February 20, 2026
1 min readLast updated: February 20, 2026
A minibus carrying Chinese tourists plunged through Lake Baikal’s ice. Seven tourists and the driver are feared dead, one person survived. Authorities in Irkutsk opened a criminal case as searches continue.
MOSCOW, Feb 20 (Reuters) - Seven bodies have been found in Lake Baikal in Russia's Siberia after a tour bus carrying eight Chinese tourists plunged into the water when the ice broke as it crossed the frozen lake on Friday, the Russian emergency ministry said.
One of the Chinese tourists who had been on the bus managed to escape, Irkutsk regional governor Igor Kobzev said on the Telegram app, and the region's prosecutor's office said a criminal case had been opened over the incident.
The ministry said rescuers had conducted an inspection of the scene using an underwater camera and that diving operations were planned.
"The depth at the site of the accident is 18 metres (59 feet)," it said in a statement.
Lake Baikal, the world's deepest freshwater lake, located north of Mongolia, is a popular destination for tourists.
Chinese tourism in Russia has soared in recent years amid closer ties between the two neighbours and the introduction of a mutual visa-free travel regime.
(Reporting by Reuters;Editing by Helen Popper)
A tourist minibus carrying Chinese visitors sank after breaking through ice on Russia’s Lake Baikal, leaving eight people feared dead and one survivor as searches continue.
On a frozen stretch of Lake Baikal in Russia’s Irkutsk region, a popular winter route where tourists sometimes travel over ice.
The Irkutsk prosecutor’s office opened a criminal case and rescue teams are conducting search operations to locate the missing.
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