Thirteen children and one adult drown in storm on Russian lake

At least 13 children and their adult instructor have died in a storm while boating on a lake in Russia's northwestern region of Karelia.

Vladimir Markin, a spokesman for the nation's main state investigative agency, said on Sunday several boats with children overturned on Saturday in a storm in Syamozero, 120 kilometres east of the border with Finland.

Of 47 children and four adult instructors in the boats, 13 children and one adult drowned, Markin said.

He said an instructor has been detained as part of an official probe, suspected of violating safety rules.

The children who went out boating came from Moscow and the capital's mayor, Sergei Sobyanin, offered condolences to the victims' families.

Repeated warnings had been issued days ahead of the storm, advising everyone against boating on the lake, one of the favourite holiday destinations in the area, regional Karelia lawmaker Alexei Gavrilov said on Rossiya 24 television.

"They didn't have the right to go out boating," he said.

Local experts said that the lake could be extremely dangerous to navigate in strong winds, and even experienced local fishermen stayed away from the lake over the weekend.