Russian ‘rust tubs’ slammed after river cruise disaster
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has demanded checks on all transport services after an overloaded boat sank on the Volga River, leaving 110 people missing and feared dead.
The president said the old, double-decker tourist boat was in a poor condition.
The BBC reported that 80 people were rescued on the River Volga in Tatarstan, about 750km east of Moscow.
Officials say the boat’s capacity was 120 passengers and crew, but it had been carrying 208 people on Sunday. At least 50 children are feared to be among the dead.
The Russian president has called for “a complete check on all means of passenger transport”.
Russia had too many “old rust tubs”, he complained.
The 55-year-old vessel, Bulgaria, was caught in a storm during a two-day excursion and sank within minutes.
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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