More than 100 people are feared drowned in Sunday’s sinking of an overloaded river cruise ship on the Volga River in central Russia.
Seventy-nine people were rescued from inflatable rafts by another passenger boat, but a majority of 208 passengers and crew were trapped inside the stricken boat as it went down in stormy weather. Rescue teams were searching nearby islets hoping to find some survivors. Divers on Monday started recovering bodies from inside the ship lying at a depth of 21 metres. They spotted at least 30 bodies of children in the ship’s entertainment hall where they had gathered for a programme just before the ship sank.
Survivors reported that the ship, leaning to starboard, was struck by a high wave as it was making a sharp turn about 3 km from the shore. Water gushed inside through open portholes and the boat sank within five to eight minutes.
Investigators and survivors noted an incredible number of breaches of law and safety regulations that led to the tragedy.
Even before the ship left its home port Kazan on Saturday on a two-day pleasure voyage, it had a problem with the main left engine and it stalled altogether on the way back. From the very beginning the ship was listing, probably because fuel had been pumped only in the starboard tank. Allowed to take a maximum of 120 passengers, the boat carried 50 per cent more. The company that operated the boat did not have a license for passenger voyages. The 56-year-old ship has not had a thorough repair in the past 30 years. Emergency doors and hatches leading to open decks were locked. Two ships passed the wreckage site without coming to the aid of survivors before a third ship took them aboard.
President Dmitry Medvedev ordered an investigation into the sinking and a total review of Russia's transportation infrastructure and safety procedures.
AP Reports:
Rescuers scoured the wide waters of a Volga reservoir on Monday, searching with dimming hopes for survivors after an aged, overloaded cruise ship sank amid wind and rain. Forty one people were confirmed dead, but more than 80 remained missing.
Emergencies Minister Sergei Shoigu was quoted by Russian news agencies as saying on Monday that 208 people were believed to have been aboard the Bulgaria when it sank on Sunday afternoon. That’s nearly 75 per cent more than the 120 the boat was licensed to carry, officials said.
The Ministry said 80 survivors were rescued, all of them Russian; it was unclear whether any foreigners were aboard. River cruise boats such as the Bulgaria are highly popular among Russian holiday-makers, conducting cruises ranging from a few days to two weeks.
Igor Panishin of the regional Emergencies Ministry was quoted by the state news agency RIA Novosti as saying survivors reported the ship was leaning to starboard as it made a turn and a wave washed over the deck. It sank within about eight minutes, he said. The agency cited local investigators as saying the ship was listing even when the voyage began, possibly because of unemptied sewage tanks, and that the port engine was malfunctioning.
“It happened very fast. Hatches and windows were knocked out,” said Vladimir Shirybyryv, a friend of both survivors and missing people who was waiting at the river port in Kazan for word. Based on a surviving friend’s account, he said- “Everyone who survived was covered with fuel oil.”
One survivor told the national news channel Vesti 24 that other ships refused to come to their aid.
“Two ships did not stop, although we waved our hands,” said the man in his 40s, who stood on the shore amid weeping passengers, some of them wrapped in towels and blankets. He held another man, who was weeping desperately.
The Transportation Ministry says Russia has 1,568 registered passenger vessels — more than 100 are as old or older than 56-year-old Bulgaria.
Emergency teams and divers from neighbouring regions rushed to the site of the tragedy, 750 km east of Moscow.
The Volga, Europe’s longest river, is up to 30 km wide in places. The river is a popular tourist destination, especially in summer months.
The Bulgaria was built in 1955 in Czechoslovakia and belongs to a local tourism company. It was travelling from the town of Bulgar to the regional capital, Kazan. The sinking site is about 20 km from Bulgar.
A tourism expert said the lack of partitions inside the Bulgaria made it vulnerable to breaches.
“In case of an accident these ships sink within minutes,” Dmitri Voropayev, head of the Samara Travel company, told RIA Novosti .
Russia’s Tourism Industry Union said the ship had not been inspected or retrofitted for years, according to the Interfax news agency.
