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Rescuers lift up a sunken boat at the Moscow river, on July 31, 2011. Nine people drowned in a boating accident after a pleasure boat carrying 16 people collided with a barge and sank in the Moscow river. (Alexey Sazonov/AFP/Getty Images)
Sixteen people had been on the boat to celebrate a birthday party when the collision occurred last Saturday night, witnesses told Moscow.
Six people were rescued and one swam to shore himself. The boat’s owner, who was among the dead, had a record of violating water transport operation rules, according to Voice of Russia.
Investigators said that overcrowding caused the collision. It was also reported that the boat had been circling the barge and was navigating unpredictably.
According to a statement by the Russian Emergency Ministry, 145 people are involved in disaster relief and investigation efforts. A floating crane is expected to be used to retrieve the sunken boat, which is caught under the hull of the barge, reported Moscow News.
The disaster is the second deadly boat accident in July. On July 10, the ‘Bulgaria’, an old, overloaded cruise ship sank, killing 122 people.
