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Russian boat tragedy arrests

Two men have been taken into custody after at least 116 people died when a tourist boat sank on the Volga river last weekend.

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Source: AFP


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Two men have been taken into custody after at least 116 people died when a tourist boat sank on the Volga river last weekend.

Russian police have arrested two people over the sinking of a tourist boat on the Volga river, as divers broadened their search for those drowned.

"We will work until we are sure that all the bodies have been found," deputy emergencies minister Alexander Chupriyan said in televised comments.

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"The divers are working in absolutely extreme conditions."

So far,104 bodies have been recovered, including 23 children.

The Bulgaira sank in bad weather at the weekend during a voyage from the town of Bulgar to the regional capital, Karzan, more than 700 kilometres east of Moscow.

Russia's Investigative Committee said that negligence on the part of the tour operator "led to the death of at least 116 people", although that toll is expected to climb.

Authorities arrested the director of the company that rented the boat and a ship registrar who certified it, placing them in pre-trial detention.

Russian media lamented the safety shortcuts that apparently led to the sinking of the boat.

The vessel had one non-functioning engine and was designed to carry only 140 passengers.

The accident "shows the logic of neglecting safety in the name of profit", wrote Vedomosti business daily.

"Disrepair and overloading increased the risk of capsizing even in moderately bad conditions. They gambled on luck going their way."

In a shocking revelation, the captain of one of two ships that failed to join the rescue effort admitted that he saw life rafts but decided not to sail over because the manoeuvre would have taken too long.


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