RUSSIA: Nine people are dead according to Russian Investigative Committee spokesman, Vladimir Markin after a riverboat collided with a barge and sank in the Moscow River

Record ID: 382735

  • Title: RUSSIA: Nine people are dead according to Russian Investigative Committee spokesman, Vladimir Markin after a riverboat collided with a barge and sank in the Moscow River
  • Date: 1st August 2011
  • Summary: MOSCOW, RUSSIA (JULY 31, 2011) (REUTERS) EMERGENCIES MINISTRY BOATS ON MOSCOW RIVER DIVER IN RIVER NEAR EMERGENCIES MINISTRY BOAT FLOATING CRANE NEAR BARGE IN RIVER BOAT ON RIVER DIVER CLIMBING OUT OF RIVER ONTO EMERGENCIES MINISTRY BOAT VARIOUS EMERGENCIES MINISTRY WORKERS ON RIVER SHORE EMERGENCIES MINISTRY BOATS ON MOSCOW RIVER PEOPLE WATCHING FROM RIVER BANK MEDIA INTERVIEWING RUSSIAN INVESTIGATIVE COMMITTEE SPOKESMAN VLADIMIR MARKIN (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) RUSSIAN INVESTIGATIVE COMMITTEE SPOKESMAN VLADIMIR MARKIN, SAYING "According to preliminary information, as a result of the incident nine people perished. Seven people were saved also due to the help of the crew of the barge 'AK'. Of course it's too early to talk about the reason for the catastrophe." EMERGENCIES MINISTRY BOAT NEAR FLOATING CRANE ON RIVER (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) RUSSIAN INVESTIGATIVE COMMITTEE SPOKESMAN VLADIMIR MARKIN, SAYING "The captain who perished - Gennady Zinger - on repeated occasions was called to administrative account (for violations) including instances of exceeding the number of passengers allowed on board (his boat). According to the information which was presented to us by the main administration of the Federal Inspection for Small Sized Boats, no more than twelve passengers were allowed to be transported on that boat. In this situation, as you know, there were 16 passengers. More exactly, there were 17 passengers in the beginning, but one passenger left early. Therefore, currently there was a violation in the number of passengers which were being transported on that boat." VARIOUS EMERGENCIES MINISTRY VEHICLES AND WORKERS ON RIVER SHORE EMERGENCIES MINISTRY BOATS ON MOSCOW RIVER
  • Embargoed: 16th August 2011 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Russian Federation
  • Country: Russia
  • Topics: Disasters
  • Reuters ID: LVA6TZTCXTAS5GH251CQGW1ERAGY
  • Story Text: A collision between a riverboat and a barge on the Moscow River resulted in the death of nine people, including the riverboat's captain on Sunday (July 31) according to a spokesman for the Russian Investigative Committee, Vladimir Markin.
    The private boat carrying 16 people sank after colliding with the river barge at around 1 a.m. (2100 GMT). Russian media quoted passengers as saying the boat had been rented for a birthday celebration.
    Russia 24 quoted witnesses as saying the riverboat was moving erratically on a 200 metre-wide bend in the river before it collided with the barge in southwest Moscow, near Luzhniki Stadium, the site of the 1980 Summer Olympics.
    Spokesman for the Russian Investigative Committee, Vladimir Markin said that nine people died and seven were rescued after the collision.
    "According to preliminary information, as a result of the incident nine people perished. Seven people were saved also due to the help of the crew of the barge 'AK'. Of course it's too early to talk about the reason for the catastrophe," Markin said, adding that the owner of the Riverboat Swallow had in the past been punished for exceeding the ship's passenger limit of 12.
    "The captain who perished - Gennady Zinger - on repeated occasions was called to administrative account (for violations) including instances of exceeding the number of passengers allowed on board (his boat). According to the information which was presented to us by the main administration of the Federal Inspection for Small Sized Boats, no more than twelve passengers were allowed to be transported on that boat. In this situation, as you know, there were 16 passengers. More exactly, there were 17 passengers in the beginning, but one passenger left early. Therefore, currently there was a violation in the number of passengers which were being transported on that boat," Markin said.
    A string of transport disasters ahead of parliamentary elections in December and presidential polls in March has led President Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin to condemn the state of the country's infrastructure and endemic regulatory corner cutting.
    Three weeks ago, 122 people died on the Volga River when the riverboat Bulgaria listed to one side and sank within minutes.
    Putin blamed irresponsibility and the desire for a quick profit for that disaster, Russia's worst river accident since 1983. A culture of corruption sometimes helps old, decrepit vessels to pass routine safety tests.
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