Three dead after ‘guided tour’ of Moscow sewer system

Three people were found dead and several others were feared missing after taking part in a guided tour of Moscow’s sewer system on Sunday following heavy rain, state-run media said.

“The body of an unidentified woman has been found in the Moskva River, making her the third person to die after a tour of the underground sewers,” a source in the emergency services was quoted as saying by the TASS news agency.

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According to the agency, water levels in the sewer rose quickly following a downpour and the victims were unable to escape to the surface.

Video shared on social media showed investigators peering down a manhole cover in the capital, while divers searched the river Moskva.

Multiple tour guides offer trips down into the vast tunnels of the capital’s sewer system, some of which were constructed during the 19th century.

One urban explorer said there were shelters in the tunnel where people could escape, but that nobody could be found.

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“I hoped that maybe I would still be able to find some survivors there. There are two shelter points, but there was no one there,” urban explorer Daniil Davydov told the RIA news agency.

Law enforcement have launched a criminal investigation into the organiser of the tour, local media said.