A pleasure boat that sunk on the Moscow River after its collision with a cargo barge was brought to surface on Sunday,
On July 31, 2011, at about 1:30 a.m., a small-sized vessel collided with a barge in the Moscow River across the Luzhniki sports center. As a result, the vessel sank with nine passengers on its board, including captain Gennady Zinger. All of them died in the accident. Seven passengers, including a Turkish national, were rescued.
The vessel, which was registered in Russia’s easternmost province of Chukotka, was carrying a total of 16 people, including the captain, while it had permission to carry no more than 12 passengers.
Zinger was brought to an administrative penalty for exceeding the number of passengers on board three times in 2011.
The Investigative Committee has launched a criminal probe into the violation of water transport safety and operation rules.
The incident comes less than a month after two-deck cruise ship Bulgaria carrying 201 people capsized and sank on the Volga River, killing 122 passengers, including children. Only 79 people were rescued.
The ship, built in 1955 and last overhauled 30 years ago, had no license to carry passengers and was heavily overloaded when it left port on its fateful voyage with only one of its two engines working.
Following the sinking of the cruise ship Bulgaria, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has ordered total checks of all passenger transport in the country.