Toll in Russian ship wreck rises to 83
July 12th, 2011 - 10:13 pm ICT by IANSMoscow, July 12 (IANS) The toll in the ship wreck in Russia’s Volga river has risen to 83, the government said Tuesday.
An emergency situations ministry spokesman said that till 1200 GMT, 83 bodies - those of 16 children, 51 women and 16 men - have been recovered from the cruise ship Bulgaria that sank Sunday.
A total of 79 people were rescued from the twin-deck vessel in Kansko-Ustinovsky district of Tatarstan region.
The ship was heavily overloaded with some 200 passengers than its capacity of 120, Xinhua reported.
Officials said up to 50 children may have been trapped in a playroom in the double-decker ship’s lower deck.
“The bodies of five children have been salvaged from the room so far,” an official of the emergency rescue team said.
Igor Panshin, spokesman for the Volga region emergencies centre, said divers were clearing the debris inside the ship, where the visibility was less that 50 metres.
The bodies of the ship’s captain and his wife were found, both with no life jackets, he said.
The federal transport ministry said the 56-year-old ship was not allowed to transport passengers and the ship owner did not acquire a license for the voyage.
Rescuers Monday recovered 53 bodies. One woman was found dead Sunday.
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Tags: cruise ship, debris, emergencies, emergency rescue, emergency situations, federal transport, life jackets, lower deck, ministry spokesman, old ship, playroom, rescuers, russian ship, ship owner, ship wreck, spokesman said that, transport ministry, volga region, volga river, xinhua