Russian captain faces criminal charges over failure to help sinking riverboat
NIZHNY NOVGOROD. July 19. KAZINFORM A criminal case has been opened against the captain of a ship that failed to come to the aid of a cruise boat that sank with the loss of at least 114 lives in Russia's Volga River on July 10, prosecutors said on Tuesday. Kazinform refers to RIA Novosti.
Yuly Tuchin, the captain of the Arbat cargo vessel, faces up to two years behind bars if found guilty of deliberately ignoring a vessel in distress.
Survivors from the sinking cruise boat, the Bulgaria, were eventually picked up by another riverboat, the MV Arabella, where they received medical assistance.
Of the 208 people on board the Bulgaria, 79 were saved, while 15 remain unaccounted for.
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has blamed "irresponsibly, negligence and greed" for the tragedy.
The Bulgaria was critically overloaded and operators had no license to organize cruises. Kazinform cites RIA Novosti. See www.en.rian.ru for full version