Maritime Accident News

110 drown, including at least 30 children, in Volga River boat disaster

A tour boat-described by Russian President Demitry Medvediv as an "old rust tub"-sank in a storm on the Volga River on Sunday.

110 persons-including at least 30 children-died.

Divers reportedly saw over 100 corpses inside the vessel on the river bottom while recovering bodies on Monday. The river was 65 feet deep at the site of the sinking.

The Bulgaria was a double decked vessel built in 1955 in the former Czechoslovakia.

Survivors said that the boat quickly listed over once the storm kicked up. It sank within eight minutes. A lack of partitions made the boat more susceptible to breaching, a tourism expert said.

There were over 200 persons aboard the boat that was only certified to carry 120 people.

Witnesses said that about 30 children had gathered to play in a room near the stern shortly before the boat went down.

The Interfax news agency said that according to Russia's Tourism Industry Union, the ship had not been inspected or retrofitted for many years. President Medvediv warned that an excessive number of "rust tubs" were used on Russian waterways.

One survivor said that two ships passing close by refused to stop, news channel Vesti 24 reported.

Prosecutors ordered a criminal investigation to open and investigators were ordered to determine the cause of the accident.

Source: Reuters and The Associated Press

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