Moscow: A hurricane in the Russian Republic of Mari resulted in the deaths of seven persons, including three children and four adults, and and 22 others were injured.
The incident happened around 6 p.m. local time (1500 GMT) on Saturday near Lake Yalchik, which is a famous place for people from Mari El and nearby Tatarstan. According to Alexander Malkin, head of the republic's civil defence and population protection committee, about 500 cars and a tent camp on the beach were damaged when a strong gust of wind blew down many trees.
He added that rescuers, police and an airborne group from the Russian emergencies ministry were involved in the relief work.
Mari El is roughly 650 kilometres (km) east of Moscow.—Inputs from Agencies
