Another gloomy incident has hit Russia’s waterways, endangering lives of its passengers.
In the northern White Sea Canal, a boat was towed away to a scrap yard with 200 passengers still on board.
The ship was stopped by the police, who decided it was unsafe. It is now moored in a remote area 25 kilometers from the nearest town. The passengers are not being allowed to get off. According to media reports, there are foreigners among the passengers.
“The place is completely deserted, there is nothing around but taiga,” the Kiselevs, whose relatives were aboard the boat, told the Russian News Service news agency. “People are not allowed to leave the boat. Even those who want to take the train and leave, because they may miss their planes, are told that the nearest town is too far away.”
The Kiselevs say that there are many elderly people onboard who feel unwell, as it is too hot and there is no climate control. They are worried that if anyone has a heart attack, emergency services will not be able to get to the site.
Officials claim there is a problem with the ship’s life boats. The ship will be permitted to set sail once the life boats are fixed.
The tourist operator refused to help the passengers out by organizing evacuation buses or even refunding them. The tickets, meanwhile, cost the victims around 88,000 rubles ($2,400).