Report: Top Yandex manager dies in Russia after boat capsizes on Volga River during storm
A top Yandex manager was found dead in the Svetloyarsky district of the Volgograd region, the Volgograd-based news outlet V1.ru reported, citing a source. Sergei Loyter was among a group of fishermen who went missing after heading out onto the Volga River in a motorboat during a storm.
Four fishermen disappeared in the Svetloyarsky district on April 24. The men had gone fishing near the hamlet of Gromki, according to V1.ru’s source. When they had not returned by noon, a search was launched. Among the missing was Alexander Nazarov — a prominent Volgograd businessman, developer, and president of the BIS trading and industrial group, whom V1.ru identified as Loyter’s father-in-law.
The body of one fisherman was recovered the same day on the bank of the Volga. He was identified as Igor Prokhorov, a local resident and Nazarov’s driver, and had head injuries, the outlet’s source said. “Preliminarily, they were on their way back and either capsized or struck something,” the source said.
Two more bodies were found on April 25; one of the victims was later identified as 42-year-old Sergei Loyter. The search for the fourth missing man is continuing.
The Investigative Committee, Russia’s federal investigating authority, opened a criminal case on charges of violating safety rules for the operation of inland water transport, resulting in the deaths of two or more people.
Sergei Loyter served as commercial director at the Russian technology company Yandex from 2022 to 2024. In May 2024, he moved to Yango, the company’s international subsidiary, where he headed the AI, advertising technology, and search optimization division, according to reports from the Russian business daily Kommersant and V1.ru. Kommersant reported that Loyter held Lithuanian citizenship.
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