TWELVE PEOPLE ARE now confirmed dead after an overloaded tourist boat went down in the Volga River yesterday.
The ship, called the Bulgaria, sank within minutes after a sudden storm. Officials say there were between 196 and 199 people on board the boat, which was only authorised to carry 120. A combination of bad weather, overcrowding and engine problems are thought to have led to the tragedy.
The Wall Street Journal reports that more than 100 people are missing, while 79 have been rescued. Many onboard were families with small children, and it’s reported that a number of children, around 50, had gathered in the main hall of the vessel prior to it sinking. The BBC reports that it’s feared 110 people are dead.
Nearly 50 divers have been working around the clock and have reported seeing many bodies inside the sunken Bulgaria.
One survivor told Russian national news channel Vesti 24 that other ships refused to come to their aid. The majority of the survivors were picked up by a passing ferry, while a few escaped on the Bulgaria’s inflatable rafts.
The Telegraph reports that one woman told Russian television that “practically no children made it out…there were very many children on the boat, very many”.
The Bulgaria was 56 years old and had been built in what was then Czechoslovakia.
- Additional reporting by AP
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