The search group for missing tourists in the mountains of Karachay-Cherkessia has been expanded.

After a day of searching, rescuers were unable to find any traces of two women from the Astrakhan region who went missing in the mountains of Karachay-Cherkessia, along their stated route.

As reported by the "Caucasian Knot," 24-year-old Victoria and 25-year-old Daria from Astrakhan did not return from a hiking route in the mountains of Karachay-Cherkessia. On May 4, the women informed their families that they were unable to find their way back to the village; they later went silent. On May 5, a team of 15 rescuers was dispatched to search for them.

On May 5, a rescue team searched two mountain areas that the missing women from the Astrakhan region had indicated when registering their route. However, "no traces of the girls' whereabouts were found," the Karachay-Cherkessia Ministry of Emergency Situations reported.

The ministry noted that 19 rescuers searched the Mukha Pass and the Arkhyz Saddle, but the search was "complicated by snow cover and the mountainous terrain."

"With the onset of daylight, the rescue team will be reinforced to search the Aksaut Gorge area. A Russian Emergencies Ministry Mi-8 helicopter is ready to depart, weather permitting," the republic's Ministry of Emergency Situations reported.

The missing Astrakhan residents were supposed to end their route near Lake Lyubvi, located at an altitude of 2,400 meters in the Zelenchuksky District of Karachay-Cherkessia. According to their parents, both girls had experience hiking in the mountains.