Moscow: At least nine people were killed
after an overloaded pleasure boat collided with a barge on the
Moskva River late last night and sank, the government said
today after another body was retrieved by the divers.
Seven people were rescued, as the 12-meter-long
Lastochka pleasure boat lies three meters below the surface,
jammed under the barge.
There were two Turkish nationals among the rescued
passengers. Six people were rescued and one swam to the shore
on his own.
The boat was carrying 16 people, celebrating a
birthday party when it crashed into a docked barge late last
night.
The captain who was also the boat's owner was among
those who drowned in the accident.
Investigators have launched a criminal probe into the
riverboat sinking on the charges of violation of water
transport rules and the blame has been placed on the captain,
allegedly for rash driving, Interfax reported.
The incident comes less than a month after a twin-deck
cruise ship Bulgaria carrying 201 people capsized and sank on
the Volga River, killing 122 passengers, including children.
Only 79 people were rescued from that accident.
In the wake of the Bulgaria's sinking total checks of
all passenger transport in the country is underway on
President Dmitry Medvedev's orders.
PTI
First Published: Sunday, July 31, 2011, 14:13