Moscow, Jul 10 : At least one person was killed and 97 others missing when a vintage double-decker passenger ship with 182 tourists on board sank today in Volga River in Russia's east-central republic of Tatarstan.
With one confirmed death, 97 people are missing after the cruise ship sank this afternoon in Volga river with 182 people on board, including the 22 crew members as a massive rescue was launched.
So far 84 passengers have been rescued by a passing ship at the accident site which was 20 metres deep. EMERCOM Minister Sergei Shoigu has briefed President Dmitry Medvedev on phone about the rescue operations, his spokesperson Irina Andrianova said.
“There were 182 people on board out of which 125 were tourists, 22 crew members and 35 service staff for catering. So far 84 people have been rescued,” Andrianova was quotyed as saying by ITAR-TASS news agency.
The double-decker cruise ship Bolgaria was en route from the Tatar town of Bolgar to Kazan sank at 13:58 Moscow time (15:28 IST) this afternoon near the village of Syukeyevo in the Kansko-Ustinovsky district of the Republic of Tatarstan, about 750-kilometre east of Moscow, RIA Novosti said.
The vintage ship was built in 1955 in the former Czechoslovakia.
Andrianova said a special Ilyushin IL-76 transport aircraft with rescuers and divers of the “Lider” group of the Central Rescue Centre (Tsentrspas ) is leaving for Tatarstan .
Most of Russia's largest cities are located along the banks of Volga, a popular tourist destination especially in summer months. It is Europe's largest river and is up to 30 kilometres wide. PTI
