Eighty out of 185 people on board of the Bulgaria cruise ship that sank in the Volga River on Sunday afternoon were rescued, while two were found dead and over 100 are still missing, a spokesman for the Russian Emergencies Ministry said on Monday.
Two-decked Bulgaria sank at 13:58 Moscow time (09:58 GMT) on Sunday near the village of Syukeyevo in the Kansko-Ustinovsky district of the Republic of Tatarstan.
“Eighty people were rescued with 79 of them taken to Kazan [the capital of Tatarstan]. Two people were taken [to Kazan] on a cutter and 77 on the Arabella cruise ship that happened to be near the scene of the incident,” the spokesman said adding that 13 people were hospitalized.
He also said that currently 223 people, including 80 divers, are involved in the relief operation.
The Russian Investigative Committee reported earlier that the Bulgaria had 179 people on board at the time of the incident, with 76 people rescued and two women found dead.