Sixteen people were missing after a helicopter carrying top regional officials and businessmen crashed into a lake in northwestern Russia, police and the emergencies ministry said Sunday.

Sixteen people were missing after a helicopter carrying top regional officials and businessmen crashed into a lake in northwestern Russia, police and the emergencies ministry said Sunday.

The Mil Mi-8 helicopter crashed into a lake in the north western region of Murmansk sometime after losing radio contact with air traffic controllers on Saturday evening, RT reported.

Two people survived the crash and have been taken to hospital, but so far the fate of the rest of the victims remains unknown. There are fears that they could all have drowned. Local fishermen on the lake shoal discovered the survivors.

There are conflicting reports on the number of people, who were on board at the time of the incident, with estimates varying from between nine and 19. The confusion may be due to the fact that the helicopter made a landing along the route and could have loaded additional passengers.

Police say senior Murmansk region officials, including a deputy governor and a deputy minister, may have been on board the helicopter, as well as the CEO of Apatit, a phosphate refining giant based in the region, and some other senior company officials.

Some 100 people are taking part in the search and rescue operation, RT added.

Investigators believe that the crash was caused by either a technical failure or a piloting error in bad weather conditions, Vladimir Markin, spokesman for the Investigative Committee said.