The Bulgaria motor ship disaster on the Volga causes. Abstract of the wreck of the motor ship Bulgaria. Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation

At approximately 13:30 Moscow time in the Kuibyshev reservoir near the village of Syukeevo in the Kamsko-Ustinsky district of the Republic of Tatarstan. The main cause of the crash was that the crew did not batten down the windows, and water filled them when a roll occurred as a result of a gust of wind and a turn.

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✪ Wreck of the motor ship "Bulgaria" on the Volga

✪ ...to the victims of the tragedy of the motor ship "Bulgaria"....10.07.2011...

✪ "Tragedy on the Volga". Let them talk. 07/11/2011

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Vessel history

Double-deck motor ship (diesel-electric ship) « Bulgaria"was built in 1955 at the shipyard Národný Podnik Škoda Komárno(Now Slovenské lodenice Komárno a.s.) in Komarno (Czechoslovakia, now Slovakia) according to project 785 in the second series.

Since its construction, the ship has been named Ukraine, in February 2010 it was renamed in honor of Volga Bulgaria - an ancient state on the territory of modern Tatarstan. Until 1962, it belonged to the Volga United River Shipping Company (VORP), home port - Gorky, then it was transferred to the Kama River Shipping Company (currently OJSC Shipping Company Kama River Shipping Company, general director - Valery Neznakin, largest shareholder - Mikhail Antonov), home port - Tchaikovsky.

In 2000-2010, the ship's tenants were Kazan Shipping Company, Vodaflot, and Volgatur. Then the ship was rented to Breeze LLC (general director - Valery Neznakin, who in June 2011 subleased the ship to Kazan LLC ArgoRechTur (director - Svetlana Inyakina), which had a bad business reputation and was not included in the Unified Register of Tour Operators, which means no rights to organize transportation.

Crash and subsequent events

The motor ship "Bulgaria", cruising along the route Kazan - Bolgar - Kazan, sank on July 10, 2011 in the Volga near the village of Syukeevo, Kama-Ustinsky district of Tatarstan.

According to the Rostransnadzor report, “at about 12:25 on July 10, the ship was hit by a strong gust of wind from the port side, and a heavy downpour and thunderstorm began. At this moment, the ship “Bulgaria” was entering a left turn. It should be noted that when the rudders are shifted to the left, all ships acquire an additional dynamic roll to starboard.” As a result, the roll angle was 9 degrees. “With such a list, the starboard portholes entered the water, as a result of which about 50 tons of sea water entered the ship’s compartments in 1 minute through the open portholes. To reduce the area exposed to the wind on the port side, the captain decided to head into the wind. To do this, the rudders were placed 15T to the left.” As a result, the list increased and the total amount of water entering the ship’s compartments reached 125 tons per minute. After this, all the portholes and part of the main deck on the starboard side sank into the water. Over the next 5-7 seconds, there was a sharp increase in the list from 15 to 20 degrees, as a result of which the ship capsized to starboard and sank.

Two vessels - the dry cargo ship "Arbat" and the pusher "Dunaysky 66" - passed by rafts with passengers and crew of the motor ship "Bulgaria". The first ship to come to the aid of those in distress was the cruise ship Arabella, whose crew carried out the rescue operation. On board the Arabella, the survivors were provided with first aid, food, hot drinks and dry clothing. Several seriously injured were sent to Kazan on the Meteor.

For several days since the tragedy, the operation to lift the motor ship "Bulgaria" from the bottom of the Kuibyshev Reservoir and to search for the bodies of the victims continued. Significant forces of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Russia, the Ministry of Transport of Russia, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia, the Ministry of Health and Social Development and commercial structures, including Sevzapkanat (a unique equipment was developed for lifting the ship) were drawn to the area of ​​the crash. As a result, the motor ship "Bulgaria" was lifted and transported to the nearest ship repair plant in Kuibyshevsky Zaton. At the same time, all the bodies of the dead were discovered.

According to final data, of the 201 people on board, 79 were saved. The death of the remaining 122 people was confirmed. Among the dead was the captain of the motor ship "Bulgaria" Alexander Ostrovsky.

The Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation in connection with the wreck of the motor ship "Bulgaria" initiated several criminal cases, and also brought a number of officials to criminal liability:

As a result, at the preliminary investigation stage, all criminal cases (with the exception of criminal cases initiated against captains Yu. Tuchin and A. Egorov) were combined into one proceeding, and the final charges and articles of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation imputed to the accused were clarified.

By the verdict of the Moscow District Court of Kazan from July 3-7, 2014, all defendants in the criminal case were found guilty of the crimes they were charged with (except for S. Inyakina, who was acquitted under the overly imputed Article 263 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). More details in the section.

All defendants in the mentioned criminal cases, with the exception of two captains who did not provide assistance to those in distress, and the senior mate of the captain of the motor ship "Bulgaria" Ramil Khametov, were placed in custody.

Several departments presented to the public their conclusions based on the results of inspections regarding the crash of the motor ship "Bulgaria" (see section).

The wreck of the motor ship "Bulgaria" had a great public resonance in Russia and the rest of the world, which in turn became the reason for the start of mass inspections in the river fleet industry, in the bodies of the River Register and Rostransnadzor. It was the “Bulgaria” accident that intensified the process of adopting a law on compulsory carrier liability insurance.

Memory

A buoy has been installed at the crash site. Ships passing by must sound a long sound signal (horn), thereby paying tribute to the memory of those who died on the ship.

The parents of five-year-old Kirill Chernov, who died in the crash of the motor ship "Bulgaria", announced that compensation funds would be used to build a children's playground near the village of Krasnogorsky in the Republic of Mari El.

Results of the investigation

Rostransnadzor

From the operative part of the audit conclusion:

The commission concluded that the causes of the accident were a combination of the following factors:

1. Failure by the shipowner and captain of the vessel to comply with the requirements of regulatory documents regulating the safety of navigation during the planning, preparation and implementation of a voyage, during which the safe navigation of the vessel was not ensured. Thus, the shipowner and captain of the vessel deliberately violated the restrictions of the Russian River Register for vessels of this project, prohibiting their operation:

2. Low qualifications and lack of discipline of the ship’s crew members, expressed in:

• failure to take the necessary safety measures when the vessel enters the reservoir and upon receiving a storm warning. The ship's port and starboard portholes were not closed, including in the engine room, where only crew members were on watch;
• in the unauthorized shutdown of the starboard main diesel generator by the senior engineer, without receiving a command from the bridge;
• in the failure of ship machinery due to non-compliance with the Technical Operation Rules;
• in non-compliance with generally accepted techniques and methods of vessel control. The left turn maneuver was carried out without taking into account: the stability features of the vessel, the already existing roll of 4° to starboard; an additional roll to starboard caused by centrifugal force during circulation to the left; a strong wind blowing on the left side and a large sail of the ship;
• in violation by the captain of the vessel of the requirements of paragraphs 15 and 16 of the Procedure for dispatch control of vessel traffic on inland waterways of the Russian Federation, approved by Order of the Ministry of Transport of Russia dated March 1, 2010 No. 47 “On approval of the procedure for dispatch control of vessel traffic on inland waterways of the Russian Federation” (captain did not inform the dispatcher and did not receive dispatch permission for the vessel to move).

Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation

Official representative of the RF IC Vladimir Markin:

The Investigative Committee officially declares that it will be possible to finally establish the cause of the sinking of the vessel only based on the results of a judicial commission of navigation and engineering and technical examination, which is currently being carried out. Taking into account the conclusion of the expert commission, appropriate procedural decisions will be made.

Regarding information about holes on the hull of the ship, Vladimir Markin explained:

Information disseminated in the media with reference to the results of the survey of the ship carried out by the Middle Volga branch of the Russian River Register that the crash of the "Bulgaria" occurred due to holes is not true. The investigation believes that the reference to anonymous experts is deliberately used to influence public opinion in order to exempt from criminal liability officials against whom a criminal case has already been initiated, as well as other persons who may soon be brought to criminal liability .

Vladimir Markin after the verdict was announced to the defendants in the case:

I would like to note that the investigation not only established the causes of the tragedy, but also took measures to prevent this from happening in the future. The desire to enrich irresponsible businessmen and corrupt officials at the expense of the health, and especially the lives of citizens, cannot be allowed to go unpunished.

Ministry of Transport of the Russian Federation

A preliminary version of the cause of the crash of the motor ship "Bulgaria" is open portholes.

Public Chamber of the Russian Federation

On November 21, 2011, the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation presented the conclusion of a public investigation, from which it follows that the crew did not take the necessary measures to prepare the vessel for departure in accordance with the announced meteorological forecast for the Kuibyshev reservoir, in particular, the crew of the "Bulgaria" did not provide stability of the vessel, did not batten down the portholes, including emergency ones, did not repair the breakdown of the left main engine, and also did not connect communications equipment to emergency power sources; the vessel was controlled without taking into account its real load, the report says. The presence of an initial list of the vessel to the starboard side, the appearance of an additional list when the vessel turned to the left, as well as a gust of heavy wind and waves (on the reservoir) led to an intensive flow of water into the hull through the open portholes and, as a result, to loss of stability and flooding of the vessel.

Court

Arbitration Court of the Republic of Tatarstan

On August 9, 2011, the ArgoRechTur Limited Liability Company was found guilty of committing an administrative offense under Part 2 of Article 14.1 by the Arbitration Court of the Republic of Tatarstan (judge A.R. Nasyrov). Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation and he was sentenced to an administrative fine in the amount of 50,000 rubles (maximum penalty for this offense) .

Excerpt from the reasoning part of the decision:

As can be seen from the documents presented in the case, on July 10, 2011 at 1:30 p.m. at 1406.0 0 km of the waterway of the Kuibyshev reservoir, near the village. Syukeevo village (according to the Atlas of the Unified State Statistics Service of the Russian Federation volume 6 part 1 of the 2006 edition) making the flight Bulgaria - Kazan, passenger ship "Bulgaria" with passengers on board in the amount of 147 people and crew members, in an overloaded state, having malfunctions in the power plant, with an understaffed crew, a list to starboard, during a left turn maneuver and a likely increase in wind in the area of ​​the 82nd axial buoy, a capsize occurred on board with subsequent flooding and a large number of casualties.

From the effective part of the solution:

Satisfy the stated requirements. Involve the Limited Liability Company "ArgoRechTour", registered at the address: Republic of Tatarstan, Kazan, st. Belinskogo, 41, apt. (office) 22, entered into the unified state register of legal entities under the main state registration No. 1101690064464 to administrative liability under Part 2 of Article 14.1 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation, with the imposition of an administrative fine in the amount of 50,000 rubles.

Moskovsky District Court of Kazan

At the request of victims and other persons, most of whom live in the city of Kazan, the Supreme Court of the Republic of Tatarstan changed the territorial jurisdiction of the criminal case “On the wreck of the motor ship “Bulgaria”” and determined the Moskovsky District Court of the city of Kazan to be the court of first instance.

On May 6, 2013, the Moscow District Court of Kazan began a trial of the main criminal case at first instance. Some of the court hearings, including the announcement of the verdict, were moved to the Yunost House of Culture in order to be able to accommodate all the victims, witnesses and representatives of the press.

During the period from July 3 to July 7, 2014 (with interruptions) in the Moscow District Court of the city of Kazan, Judge S. N. Yakunin announced the verdict against all defendants in the case.

Svetlana Inyakina- found guilty of committing crimes under Article 238 Part 2, 143 Part 3 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation and sentenced her to imprisonment for a term of 11 years to be served in a general regime colony. According to Art. 263 Part 2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation was justified. Ramilya Khametova- found guilty of committing crimes under Article 238 Part 2, 263 Part 2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation and sentenced him to imprisonment for a period of 6 years 6 months to be served in a general regime colony. The preventive measure in the form of a recognizance not to leave will be changed - taken into custody in the courtroom. Vladislav Semenov- found guilty of committing crimes under Article 285 Part 3 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation and sentenced him to imprisonment for a period of 5 years to be served in a general regime colony. Yakova Ivashova- found guilty of committing crimes under Article 285 Part 3 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation and sentenced him to imprisonment for a period of 5 years. Acquitted under Part 3 of Article 238 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. Due to the existence of an amnesty act, Yakov Ivashov will be released from punishment. Released from custody in the courtroom. Ireka Timergazeeva- found guilty of committing crimes under Article 285 Part 3 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation and sentenced him to imprisonment for a period of 6 years to be served in a general regime colony.

In addition, everyone is prohibited from engaging in certain types of activities for a period of 3 years. The civil claim of the victims for a total amount of 50,000,000 rubles was satisfied.

Supreme Court of the Republic of Tatarstan

On April 2, 2015, the Supreme Court of Tatarstan approved the verdict in the criminal case regarding the crash of the diesel-electric ship "Bulgaria". The Supreme Court decided to strengthen the sentence imposed on Ivashov under Art. 285 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation and exclude the decision on amnesty from the sentence. He was sentenced to five and a half years in a general regime colony with deprivation of the right to hold positions in the bodies supervising the operation of all types of transport, as well as in the river Rosregister for a period of three years, crediting him with the time spent in custody from July 12, 2011 to the term of serving his sentence. July 3, 2014. The court commuted Inyakina’s sentence, releasing her “due to the expiration of the statute of limitations for criminal prosecution” from Part 2 of Art. 143 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, sentencing her only under Art. 238 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (provision of services that do not meet the requirements for the safety of life and health of consumers, resulting in the death of two or more persons through negligence) - nine and a half years in prison. For the remaining convicts, the sentence was left unchanged.

The main participants in the events associated with the wreck of the motor ship "Bulgaria"

• Inyakina Svetlana Georgievna- General Director and sole participant of the Limited Liability Company "Argorechtur", which was the sublessee and operator of the motor ship "Bulgaria" during the 2011 season. Accused of providing services that do not meet the safety and health requirements of consumers (Article 238 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation), violating safety rules for the operation of inland water transport (Article 263 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation), violating labor protection rules (Article 143 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation).
• Ivashov Yakov- senior expert of the Kama branch of the Russian River Register, who issued Argorechtur LLC a positive conclusion for the operation of the motor ship "Bulgaria" in 2011. Accused of unlawfully issuing official documents certifying the compliance of the services provided by Inyakina with the requirements for the safety of life and health of consumers (Article 238 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation), abuse of official powers for mercenary and other personal interest (Article 285 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation).
• Timergazeev Irek- Head of the Kazan department of Rostransnadzor. According to the investigation, Timirgazeev Irek, together with Semenov Vladislav, gave a positive conclusion about the readiness of Argorechtur LLC to transport passengers, while there were no grounds for this. Accused of abuse of power out of other personal interests (Article 285 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation).
• Semenov Vladislav- Chief State Inspector of the Kazan Department of Rostransnadzor. According to the investigation, Vladislav Semenov, together with Irek Timirgazeev, gave a positive conclusion about the readiness of Argorechtur LLC to transport passengers, while there were no grounds for this. Accused of abuse of power out of other personal interests (Article 285 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation).
• Tuchin Yuri Vladislavovich- captain of the dry cargo ship "Arbat", convicted by the Kamsko-Ustinsky District Court of the Republic of Tatarstan under Article 270 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation in connection with failure to provide assistance to survivors of the wreck of the motor ship "Bulgaria". Sentenced to a fine of 130 thousand rubles.
• Egorov Alexander Pavlovich- captain of the pusher "Dunaysky 66", convicted by the Moscow District Court of the city of Kazan under Article 270 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation in connection with failure to provide assistance to survivors of the wreck of the motor ship "Bulgaria". Sentenced to a fine of 190 thousand rubles.
• Safin Rashid- Director of the Kazan River Port, dismissed from this position on July 15, 2011 “for allowing the release of the motor ship “Bulgaria” on a cruise.” He challenged his dismissal in court, but the courts of the first and second instance considered the dismissal legal and justified.
• Ostrovsky Alexander- captain of the motor ship "Bulgaria", died in the wreck of the motor ship "Bulgaria". During search operations at the crash site, the body of Captain Ostrovsky was discovered on the captain's bridge. The criminal case was discontinued due to the death of the accused.
• Ramil Khametov- survivor of the disaster, senior mate of the ship "Bulgaria". During the investigation of a criminal case, he was accused of violating traffic safety rules and operating inland water transport (Article 263 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation)..
• Khramov Alexander Grigorievich- Head of the Volga Department of the State Marine and River Supervision Authority (Nizhny Novgorod), who committed suicide on August 22, 2011 due to dismissal from his position. Alexander Khramov was a witness in the case of the wreck of the motor ship "Bulgaria" (the same witness as Irek Timergazeev and Vladislav Semenov were before August 15, 2011).
• Lizalin Roman Evgenievich- captain of the motor ship "Arabella", who together organized the rescue of the surviving passengers and crew members of the motor ship "Bulgaria". Subsequently he was awarded state and departmental awards.
• Chernyshov Sergey Mikhailovich- Major General of Justice, senior investigator for particularly important cases under the Chairman of the Investigative Committee of Russia, head of the investigative group created to investigate the criminal case opened on the fact of the crash of the motor ship "Bulgaria" on July 10, 2011.
• Yakunin Sergey Nikolaevich- judge of the Moscow District Court of the city of Kazan, who considered the criminal case “On the wreck of the motor ship “Bulgaria”” at first instance.
• Antonov Mikhail- largest shareholder of JSC "Shipping Company" Kama River Shipping Company "", tycoon. The Kama River Shipping Company denied rumors about Antonov’s flight abroad.
• Neznakin Valery- General Director of JSC “Shipping Company “Kama River Shipping Company”” - owner of the motor ship “Bulgaria”.
• OJSC Shipping Company "Kama River Shipping Company" (Perm)- the owner of the motor ship "Bulgaria", who did not bear responsibility, despite the current legislation, according to which the legal owner of the property bears responsibility for damage caused by the operation of the property.
• Breeze LLC (Perm)- a company that is a lessee of the motor ship “Bulgaria”, which subleased this motor ship to Argorechtur LLC.
• Argorechtur LLC (Kazan) is a travel company created by Svetlana Inyakina at the end of 2010. As of July 10, 2011, this legal entity was the current sublessee of the motor ship "Bulgaria", fully responsible for manning the crew, ongoing repairs and maintaining the ship in proper technical condition.

Opinions about the disaster

A terrible tragedy occurred on the Volga. My condolences to the families and friends of those killed

and at the meetings he gave instructions:

All search efforts must be completed, despite the fact that there is practically no hope of finding anyone alive. This must be done for understandable moral and ethical reasons and in order to find out all the circumstances of his death

The number of old vessels that float with us is prohibitive! If it happened before, this does not mean that it could not happen. This happened, and with the most terrible consequences. It is necessary to assess this situation and force either to carry out the necessary overhaul of all those who own ships, or to take them out of service if they are not suitable in terms of their quality for carrying out this type of transportation.

It is not the “switchmen” who swiped the papers who must answer for this crime, but everyone who organizes this process... So that next time any official, regardless of rank, understands that responsibility for the departure of such a vessel to sea can be not only disciplinary, but also criminal. This criminal liability must be translated into very tangible penalties.

It is necessary to figure out what happened, expose and punish those responsible. This should be done in relation to a wide range of people, including the organizers of this mess, and not just the “switchmen”, the vice-chairmen and other random people who fell into this orbit.

If the technology is outdated, is it possible to use this technology at the risk of human life? only in order to get money? It is no coincidence that all these catastrophes are accompanied, on the one hand, by examples of courage and selfless feat, and on the other - by examples of cowardice and recklessness... If the dominant feature of our lives continues to be the desire to earn as much as possible by any means necessary, then we are in for more O greater disasters.

What happened on July 10 with Bulgaria, without any exaggeration, shocked the whole country. So many victims, so many children died! It’s terrible that we have to pay such a tribute for irresponsibility, for carelessness, for greed, for a gross violation of technological safety rules...

...In general, how could it happen that a company without a license for tourism activities, without a license to use ships, could operate? How were tickets sold at the port? Who allowed? How were you released from the port? How did the port enter into an agreement with this company, which does not have a single license for services at the port? How could this happen? Where were Rostekhnadzor, Rostransnadzor? Where were all these departments?

Valery Neznakin, General Director of JSC Shipping Company Kama River Shipping Company, the day after the crash of the motor ship Bulgaria:

In this case, we bear not legal, but only moral responsibility for the death of passengers.

Svetlana Inyakina, director of ArgoRechTour LLC, told the press before her arrest (text as edited by the source):

Everything was fine with the ship. According to the register documents, everything was in order, the ship was in technically acceptable condition. It's simple assault warning and strong wind. We got caught in a storm and the hold was flooded.

Notes

1. Upon the flooding of the passenger mv ship Bulgaria and the death of passengers, the Volga Investigative Department of Transport of the Investigative Committee of Russia has opened a criminal case (undefined) . Privolzhsky Investigation Department for Transport of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation (11.07.11). Retrieved July 11, 2011. Archived August 14, 2012.
2. A criminal case has been initiated against the co-owners of “Bulgaria” for failure to pay dividends to the state.
3. OJSC "Shipping Company "Kama River Shipping Company" (KRP), registered in 1993. 53% of the shares belong to the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the OJSC, Mikhail Antonov, through the Antonov Group - F.Z.E., registered in the United Arab Emirates. 32.13% of the authorized capital belongs to the state. According to the reporting of the OJSC, it leases six of its vessels, including the Bulgaria, to Breeze LLC (Perm), the founder of which is also Mikhail Antonov. Breeze LLC, in turn, subleased this vessel to ArgoRechTour LLC (Kazan), the director and founder of which is Svetlana Inyakina. The owner of the Bulgaria is already under investigation. Newspaper “Kommersant”, No. 125 (4666), 07/12/2011, 2nd page
4. The Investigative Committee found the culprits of the Bulgaria disaster, the media and bloggers of the owner, a United Russia millionaire, Newsru.com, 07/12/2011.

Today's Sunday is overshadowed by a message from Tatarstan, where the passenger motor ship "Bulgaria" sank under still unclear circumstances on the largest reservoir of the Volga, Kuibyshevsky. At this point, 84 people are known to have been saved and one person died. Thus, the fate of another 102 people remains officially unknown.

The ship belonged to the Agrorechtur company and performed a so-called weekend trip. The night before, "Bulgaria" left Kazan and at 7 am today moored in the town of Bolgar.

Passengers returned to the ship around 11 am. It set off on its way back and a couple of hours later, for unknown reasons, sank opposite the village of Syukeevo. Despite the fact that everything happened on the river, in essence the Kuibyshev Reservoir is a freshwater sea. The distance from the crash site to the shore is about 3 km, the depth there is 20 meters. It is reported that there were many passengers with children on board.

Head of the Ministry of Emergency Situations Sergei Shoigu informed Dmitry Medvedev about the progress of rescue work at the disaster site. According to the Kremlin press service, the minister reported to the president by telephone about the measures being taken to rescue the victims and about the rescue operation in general. The Ministry of Emergency Situations is also sending an Il-76 plane with divers and rescuers to Tatarstan.

Dmitry Medvedev ordered the head of the republic to provide all necessary assistance to the victims, the head of the investigative committee, Alexander Bastrykin, to create a special investigative group.

The Department of the Ministry of Emergency Situations in Tatarstan has opened a “hotline”, through which you can now find out about the fate of the passengers and crew members who were on the ship.

(843) 22746 -55
Hotline number of the Ministry of Emergency Situations in Tatarstan, where you can now find out all the information about survivors.

Alexey Mavrin, correspondent, especially for NTV: “I’m right on the shore within sight of the shipwreck. Right about 2.5 kilometers away from me there are several ships that outline the site of the supposed shipwreck. The ship "Bulgaria" sank about 8 kilometers from the coast. And now it is at the bottom, at a depth of 20 meters. The ship sank in no more than five minutes, but most of those on board managed to escape either in lifeboats or by wearing life belts and vests. About fifty people could have boarded the next tourist ship on the same course.”

Emergency Ministry employees are trying to help the victims. The nearby islands are being surveyed. According to eyewitnesses, the pleasure boat "Bulgaria" was caught in a storm and capsized.

Svetlana Imyakina, director of Argorechtur LLC: “Nothing is known. The ship "Arabella" will arrive now. Everything was in front of “Arabella”. There is no contact with them yet. Economy class motor ship. Repairs and renovation work have been carried out. He departed on the 18th. Everything was fine, everything was great. I don’t know what happened.”

We have only fragmentary data about the weather that was at the time of the incident. From the words of an eyewitness, we know that the weather was normal, at times it rained and there was a thunderstorm. But overall everything was fine, there was no particular disturbance at the reservoir.

Information about the number of rescued people is constantly changing. So far we can confidently talk about 85 passengers and crew members. posted on the website of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Tatarstan.

It is known about the sunken ship that it is a “Project 785” motor ship, built in Czechoslovakia back in 1955. That is, he was practically a museum exhibit. And earlier this diesel-electric ship had a different name - “Ukraine”.

"Bulgaria" was making one of the weekend tours. Kazan Bulgar and back. A two-day trip at a reasonable price: tickets cost from 1200 to 5000 rubles. Why the ship sank on the way back is not yet clear, but there was a different opinion on Internet forums: it’s strange that this diesel-electric ship is still in operation at all.

From 2003 to 2010, no one used the old “Ukraina” at all, but in 2010 it was renamed “Bulgaria”, and it worked for a season for the Vodoflot company. Reviews from tourists were, to put it mildly, not very good. And if you believe online forums, then just a few days ago the following happened to the Bulgaria: the engine stalled three times during the voyage. The last time 100 meters before the quay wall of the Kazan port.

The departure for this ill-fated flight was delayed for a week until money was collected for the vouchers in order to patch up the technical flaws. As a result, there was not enough money to feed tourists. There wasn't even enough bread.

On board, passengers drank outboard Volga water as drinking water. The speed of movement of this old galosh turned out to be such that every time she was several hours late in arriving at the port. Because of this, excursions were reduced or even cancelled.

Tour operators who sold tickets for Bulgaria cruises assured that the ship met all safety requirements. And tomorrow the veteran ship was supposed to depart for a week-long cruise along the route Kazan Samara Volgograd.

Most of the Bulgaria passengers were not insured, since insurance was not included in the ticket price. The distribution of tickets was carried out, in particular, by the company "Intour Volga". Most of the places were purchased there.

As noted NTV correspondent Sergei Morozov, several more such vessels are in operation in Russia, including two on the Volga. According to experts, the design feature of this series of ships is the absence of internal waterproof bulkheads. So, in the event of a large hole in the bottom, the ship sinks in a matter of minutes. It is possible that this is exactly what happened today.

And now two most important questions. First: what about the people who are listed as missing? And second: why did the ship sink? Experts from several departments will look for answers to these questions. Rosmorrechflot reported that its head, Alexander Davydenko, had already flown to Kazan, and the deputy head of Rostransnadzor, Vladimir Popov, also went to the site of the tragedy.

The Ministry of Emergency Situations held an emergency meeting

Egor Kolyvanov, NTV correspondent: “Yes, there is still a meeting of the operational headquarters in the building of the Ministry of Emergency Situations, which will work until the end of rescue and search work at the scene. Headquarters in Tatarstan and the Volga region are constantly in touch with Moscow and provide the latest information.”

Irina Andrianova, head of the information department of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of the Russian Federation: “Search and rescue work is currently ongoing at the site, 80 people and 22 pieces of equipment are working, in addition to the Arabella motor ship, now 2 more motor ships have arrived at the site of the death of the Bulgaria motor ship. This is a motor ship
“Reef” and motor ship “Island”. In addition, 2 more patrol ships will arrive there in the near future.”

The operational headquarters of the Ministry of Emergency Situations also could not explain or name the reason why the motor ship "Bulgaria" sank, but at least they did not confirm to us the information that the ship capsized.

At 19:30, an Il-76 plane with 30 people on board will take off from Ramenskoye - these are rescuers and divers who will carry out this rescue operation. There will also be special diving and search equipment on board the aircraft. Now the ship itself is not visible - only a huge oil stain on the surface of the water.

Most of the ship's passengers are residents of Kazan. Their relatives and friends, having learned about what had happened, began to gather at the Kazan river port, where the ship was supposed to return.

The Investigative Committee of Russia reported that a criminal case has already been opened regarding the emergency with the motor ship “Bulgaria” under the article “Violation of safety rules for the movement of water transport and the operation of ships.”

Investigative source ITAR-TASS reported: “According to preliminary main versions, the ship could have sunk either because it was too old. The possibility of overload cannot be ruled out. There is no information about a possible collision of the vessel.”

This is not the first major shipwreck on the river. Just six months ago, due to the fault of a drunken navigator, a motor ship on the Amur crashed into the shore. But the disaster of the motor ship "Alexander Suvorov" is better known. In 1983, he crashed into a bridge in Ulyanovsk in the middle of the night. Hundreds of people died. Then, during the investigation, it turned out that the ship was overloaded: there were many more passengers on it than stated.

Exactly 6 years have passed since the day when news reports from all media outlets were marked “Urgent” or “Special Issue.” On July 10, 2011, the cruise ship "Bulgaria" sank with passengers on board. Only a third of them were able to escape. Terrible, merciless news fell on people that summer day, during the holidays. But it was even more terrible to learn the details of the tragedy, which were revealed during the investigation of the crash.

Unfinished river cruise

Anyone who has spent their vacation on a river cruise at least once will definitely repeat it. Nowhere can you relax so much in a short period of time as on the water. Alternating between cities and excursions with relaxing time on deck and delicious dinners quickly restores the strength lost over the year. It is no wonder that many, choosing this type of vacation, look forward to it and buy tickets in advance.

The passengers on this flight, like all those traveling by water, were calm and carefree. After an excursion in the city of Bolgar, they rested. They were supposed to return to Kazan only by 10 pm. Someone sat in the hall, because it was raining and strong wind outside, someone lay down to take a nap after lunch, and the children were gathered in the music room for an entertaining event.

At 13:30 Moscow time, the motor ship "Bulgaria", making a left turn, sharply tilted to one side, scooped up sea water with its open portholes and three minutes later sank under the water.

About the ship

Built in the shipyards of Czechoslovakia in 1955 and released under the name "Ukraine", it was operated on the rivers of Russia for 56 years, changing owners, before the disaster. In the last years of his life he had to endure various unpleasant events.

The old, worn-out ship, which required, if not decommissioning, then major repairs, was mercilessly exploited by changing tenants and subtenants. It is clear that no one spared what was “temporarily theirs.” Its last owner, who wanted to squeeze money out of the dying ship, was Kazan-based ArgoRechTur LLC.

In 2007, the ship already tried to sink, “sinking,” as the people who worked on it then softly said about it. But that time the team managed to cope with the situation.

A year later, in early September, the ship ran aground near the river port of Kazan. The landing turned out to be so tight, with the entire hull, that only a pusher tug that came to the rescue from the city port could rescue him.

Experts say that by this time the ship had acquired a bad reputation. Often some mechanisms failed, equipment broke down, staff and crew performed poorly. Demand for his services fell sharply. To cut off the “negative trail”, the ship was given a new name, as if starting its history from scratch.

The reborn motor ship "Bulgaria" remained the same old and poorly suited vessel for tourism. To increase demand for its cruises, the cost of travel packages was reduced to a minimum. Now people began to choose it for 3-day trips along the Volga or Kama.

About the owner

The owner of the ship has seen his ship only on paper for many years. The Kama River Shipping Company preferred to rent out the problematic ship. Tenants replaced one another until it was the turn of the Kazan company ArgoRechTur LLC, headed by Svetlana Inyakina.

Having previously worked in the tourism business, Ms. Inyakina earned the following review from her colleagues: unprofessional. Some tour operators refused to cooperate with her due to financial problems that arose.

Despite the fact that the new company she created was not included in the Unified Register of Tour Operators, that is, it did not have the rights to transport people, the director of the tenant company Breeze LLC, Valery Neznakin, subleased the vessel in June 2011 to S. Inyakina. There is no doubt that both directors are aware of the deplorable technical condition of the Bulgaria ship. He couldn't even be insured.

About technical condition

According to the lessee of the ship, V. Neznakin, the ship underwent a technical inspection every year, but was “in an aesthetically old condition.” If only aesthetically... Surviving team members said that breakdowns occurred constantly. The repairmen on the ship did not sit idle.

It also turned out that the rental cost S. Inyakina was 2 times cheaper than the original cost, since she took upon herself the repair of the engine, which was necessary. And besides, there were no others willing to rent this ship...

Based on the results of the investigation, Rostransnadzor published information that since July 8, 2011, the left main generator on the ship has not been working. Throughout the cruise, the repair crew was busy solving this problem. This problem caused the ship to list to starboard by 4 degrees.

About the team

Angry, accusatory words addressed to captain Alexander Ostrovsky because of the death of the motor ship "Bulgaria" were heard most furiously in the first, most emotional days. The grief was so great and unbearable that I wanted to blame everyone and everything. And first of all, the captain.

The man has been driving ships on the river since 1978. First motor ships, then the high-speed Meteor, then again a motor ship. I had to swim along a calm river, through stormy reservoirs, and along the Vetluga, a fast and winding river.

When he switched to Bulgaria, everyone noticed a change in him. He became withdrawn, often irritated due to difficult relations with the tenant, and paid his own money for the repair of the ship and the crew’s salaries. I wanted to retain smart guys with this, but there was a lot of turnover. According to his family, he could not quit because he was a “financial hostage”; he was not paid any money, but was encouraged with promises.

It is unclear why such an experienced person did not give the command to batten down the portholes, which were open due to the stuffiness in the premises. Inexperienced tourists may not have understood the impending danger. But everything was wide open in the service premises as well.

As eyewitnesses say, during the disaster of the motor ship "Bulgaria", he was the only person from the team who tried to change the situation. Remaining at the helm, he steered the ship toward the shoal, but everything happened too quickly. If "Bulgaria" had swam another 40 meters, it would have run aground and, perhaps, the consequences would not have been so terrifying. The captain remained on his ship.

The passengers saved themselves as best they could. The two rafts and circles that opened helped someone. But the crew members were busy saving themselves and their families. Were the life-saving equipment in order and whether the strict captain A. Ostrovsky had impeccable discipline on the ship - questions that are still difficult to answer today.

The sinking of the motor ship "Bulgaria" on the Volga

The return to Kazan was accompanied by bad weather conditions, but initially acceptable for sailing. At 1330 hours, several events coincided that individually would not have harmed the ship. But together they led to a disaster recognized as the largest on the river in modern history.

The ship, located 3 kilometers from the shore of the Kuibyshev Reservoir, was hit by a thunderstorm front with rain and squally winds. Entering a left turn, the ship tilted to the right. The combination of this list with the existing one due to technical problems and amplified by the onboard wind blow caused the ship to list from 4 to 9 degrees. This was enough for water to rush into the open portholes. The ensuing increase in the angle of roll allowed a stream of water to collapse inward, and the ship sank to the bottom in a matter of minutes.

Rescue of drowning people...

There were 201 people on the ship. Only 79 were lucky to escape. The remaining tourists and team members were unable to escape from the premises.

The children, gathered below for an entertaining event, had no chance of rising from there. The parents, who rushed down to save them, remained in the corridors.

Some survivors of the wreck of the motor ship "Bulgaria" talked about how someone was washed overboard, someone was helped to get out by strangers, someone themselves snatched someone from the cabins on the way to salvation. Everything happened too quickly.

Help comes or floats by

It is easy to imagine the horror of people who found themselves in the water with a thunderstorm raging around them. Desperate fear for loved ones, a distant shore, perhaps the inability to swim. Can you imagine that in such a situation someone will not lend you a helping hand? Moreover, there is no threat to the saviors.

Two ships passed by without responding to the screams from the water. The captains of the dry cargo ship "Arbat" and the pusher "Dunaysky 66" decided that dying people were not a reason to stop moving.

Rescue came from the crew of the cruise ship Arabella. They brought people on board, provided assistance, and brought them ashore.

Rescue work

Rescue operations were organized at the place where the motor ship "Bulgaria" sank. For several days, divers retrieved the bodies of dead people from the bottom. All this time, their relatives and friends remained on the shore. Finally, all the drowned people were found. 122 people remained inside the sinking "Bulgaria", captain Alexander Ostrovsky remained with them.

To lift the ship itself, given its decrepitude and the threat of falling apart when trying to get it out of the water, the “defense specialists” came up with “steel towels”, which were manufactured in the shortest possible time in St. Petersburg.

On July 26, as a result of the technologically complex work of divers and services on board the vessels, the motor ship "Bulgaria" was raised to the surface. Photos from the scene of events were published by all media.

Investigation

• violation of safety rules (malfunction of ship mechanisms, sailing in wind force exceeding the tolerances for such vessels, etc.);
• low qualifications and lack of discipline of crew members (open windows, turning off the left engine without a command, turning the ship without taking into account the existing roll, etc.).

The Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation has opened several criminal cases regarding the accident on the Volga of the motor ship "Bulgaria". The following persons were punished:

• Svetlana Inyakina, sublessee of the vessel - 9.5 years.
• Ramil Khametov, senior assistant captain of “Bulgaria” - 6.5 years.
• Yakov Ivashov, expert who issued the permit to operate the ship - 5 years.
• Irek Timergazeev, Vladislav Semenov, specialists who issued an opinion on the readiness of ArgoRechTour LLC to transport passengers - 6 and 5 years, respectively.
• Yuri Tuchin and Alexander Egorov, captains of the ships that passed by, were fined in the amount of 130 and 190 thousand rubles, respectively.

They are remembered

The tragedy of the motor ship "Bulgaria" did not leave anyone indifferent. Our compatriots, governments and ordinary people from different countries expressed sympathy to the loved ones of the victims. Residents of Kazan, in the first hours after the sinking of the ship, built a spontaneous memorial in the port. Flowers, toys and candles were brought here.

On July 10, 2012, on the bank of the river, opposite the site of the tragedy, a monument was unveiled, combining a wall of memory with 122 names of the dead people, a square with a chapel and a mosque.

A buoy is installed at the site of the ship's sinking, and ships passing by it sound a long horn.

"The boat sank there"

There in Tatarstan, a boat sank, six people were injured - this information was initially received by a number of media outlets from their correspondents. A double-deck diesel-electric ship sank two kilometers from the shore, at the widest point on the Volga. From a distance it could have been mistaken not only for a boat, but also for an inflatable boat.

Horrible details began to arrive every minute: initially it was reported about 10 dead, then about 20, 30, 50. Dozens of “missing people”, hopes - “what if they find it?”

An hour later information appeared that it was a false alarm!

Everyone is saved. A ship passed by, which took passengers to the nearest island, the relatives said happily.

Didn't show up. Didn't make it. Within 24 hours it became clear that people really died and that there were many victims. Horrible details became clear over the next few days.

Drunk flights

Such short flights are called "drunk" flights. The fact is that passengers often arrive at boarding already drunk, and leave still drunk. The main category of passengers on such flights are parents with children or colleagues in a noisy group. The first ones admire the beauty, their children are entertained in the playroom (most often one of the halls on the upper deck), then they go on an excursion and return home.

The latter have fun until they drop. How they manage to get off board is sometimes simply amazing to half the crew. But that's not what this is about.

In such a relaxed weekend environment, the last thing you want to think about is your own safety. Well, what can happen on the Volga - the main vacation spot for most local residents. So what if the shores are not visible? “What’s the point of swimming” - as a last resort.

What kind of security?

Of course, most passengers did not even think about life jackets. And when it turned out that they were not there, it was too late.

Later, the surviving passengers recalled that there was no safety briefing. Although every flight the captain or first mate is required to tell passengers where to run and how to escape in case of an emergency. Who should evacuate you, in the end, and where to look for life jackets.

In fact, it is possible that there was instruction, but many did not attend it. As a rule, it is held on the upper deck or in the music room at the very beginning of the voyage. The story continues for about 15 minutes. The start of the briefing is announced throughout the board. Only by that time many are preparing for dinner, putting things away in the cabins.

About the weather

In general, going in both directions from Samara - both to Saratov and to Kazan - can be quite scary. Let's leave the scientific explanations to the sailors; on my own behalf I will only say that sometimes it rocks in a terrible way. There are situations when ships tilt so much that dishes fly off the tables. There are many reasons - from sloppy descent in the locks to high waves. But the crew sympathizes with the waitresses and passengers, asking them to wait. It will all be over soon.

When the “dangerous place” is passed, the ship calmly moves on. I repeat, such situations do not happen on every ship and not every navigation. For example, on four-deck ships this is generally one case in a million.

On July 10, 2011 the weather was rather unpleasant - rain, wind, thunderstorm. “A terrible storm on the Volga,” the media wrote six years ago. What a terrible storm, is this the Black Sea? Ocean? Yes, there were waves, but nothing more. Even a storm warning was not announced, although in Kazan they are very sensitive to this. If there is the slightest worry, the board may not be allowed to leave the river port.

Most likely, the "Bulgaria" would have easily reached Kazan if not for a technical malfunction - the ship was listing to starboard. Moreover, the ship has been mowing down since at least 2010, which was later recalled more than once by crew members of other ships.

At that moment, when the "Bulgaria" was entering a left turn near the village of Syukeevo, Kama-Ustinsky district, when the rudders were shifted, the ship received an additional dynamic roll to the starboard side.

This is how the experts described the moment: “With such a list, the portholes on the starboard side entered the water, as a result of which about 50 tons of sea water entered the ship’s compartments in one minute through the open portholes. In order to reduce the area of ​​influence of the wind on the port side, the captain decided to head towards wind." To do this, the rudders were placed 15T to the left. As a result, the roll increased, the total amount of water entering the ship's compartments reached 125 tons per minute. After this, all the windows and part of the main deck of the starboard side were immersed in water. There was a sharp increase in the roll, after whereupon the ship capsized to starboard and sank.

Eyewitnesses recalled that the ship went under water in about five minutes at most. Perhaps that is why it was initially mistaken for a boat from the shore. Well, a ship with more than 200 seats couldn’t just go 20 meters under the water like that.

There were no options

No one gave a distress signal even on board. Those crew members managed to tell, those who managed to jump onto the deck and jump at their own risk, were saved. What is the danger of jumping overboard: firstly, the screws that can get caught under. Secondly, the ship went under water, a funnel was formed. You have to be a good athlete to row out of it.

But people had no options, plus the desire to survive works wonders. 79 people survived the disaster: 50 passengers, 23 crew members and six unregistered people. It later became known that a total of 33 people worked on board.

Many children were in the music room at the time of the crash. Some of them managed to put on vests, but were not brought onto the deck. Some were found in the corridor, others in the music salon. Having learned about this already on the shore, some parents rushed back into the water. Rescuers and eyewitnesses painfully held the mothers in their hands, who were ready to throw themselves into the water without hesitation, just loosen their grip.

A little about the crew

The Lebedev family worked on the "Bulgaria" as a whole family: father Sergei was a boatswain, his wife Alena was a cook (crew), daughter Dasha was a waitress, son Sasha was an apprentice on the crew. When it became clear that the ship would not reach the saving meters to the shallows, Sergei began throwing people overboard. He jumped at the last moment, but then returned under water. The man saved at least six people at the cost of his own life.

"I just remember that there was only water above me. There was not enough air, I pushed off from the deck railing and emerged. I opened my eyes, and there was water all around. At the time of the tragedy, I was on the main deck, feeding the crew. My son was in another place at that time The daughter was in the restaurant, setting the table,” Alena Lebedeva later recalled.

It seems strange, but some crew members simply did not know how to swim. Thus, two waitresses, Dasha and Guzel, were able to escape from the sinking ship. But while the second one was surfacing, it swallowed water and fuel and went under water. Ivan, who was the helmsman on the ship, was also found among the dead. From the very beginning of navigation, crew members joked about the “sailor who can’t swim”...

Captain Alexander Ostrovsky and his wife remained on board. After this, sailors on other ships debated for a long time whether this was nobleness or lack of options. If he had escaped (and there were chances), the passengers’ relatives would have staged a lynching on the spot or would have been imprisoned for a long time. Why he didn't push his wife overboard remains a question. It is unlikely that the “romance of the Titanic” had anything to do with this.

But there are few such stories from on board. Some saved their own lives. To be honest, they can be understood. Many restaurant workers and the art crew on board are people who themselves go to relax and work at the same time. They are paid very modestly (in 2012, the salaries of waitresses on average did not exceed 15,000 rubles, artists and presenters were paid “as agreed” - it happened that 500 rubles per day of flight).

Soon the Arabella, led by captain Roman Lizalin, arrived to pick up the surviving passengers. According to some sources, the captain of the tugboat “Dunaysky-66” Alexander Egorov reported about “some kind of emergency and rafts in the Volga”. According to other sources, the crew and art crew began to lower the rafts when they saw the first passenger of the double-decker in the water.

Twin ships

By that time, two ships were sailing along the Volga - twins of the Bulgaria. One of them, "Peter Alabin", operated the Samara - Kazan - Samara flight. He was stopped right at the river port of the capital of Tatarstan. When the passengers found out what had happened, they demanded to be sent home “at least on foot, and not on this ship.”

And they began to check the ship with passion. As a result, there are a lot of violations, ranging from age (the ship was more than 50 years old at that time; reconstructions, annual repairs and frequent rebuilds do not count) and ending with technical equipment. Now "Pyotr Alabin" does not perform any long-distance flights, the maximum is a walk along the Volga for two or three hours.

The second twin, "Composer Glazunov", was heading from Astrakhan to Yaroslavl. They also started checking him. We found, for example, a radiation level that was 12 times higher and many technical violations. By the way, the ship left the backwater for the first time in 2010 after 16 years of being laid up. After checking on it, I returned.

Who is guilty

Often the owner of the ship and the charterer (lessee) are completely different people. Thus, “Bulgaria” was owned by the shipping company “Kama River Shipping Company”, and it was leased by “Agrorechtur”, headed by Svetlana Inyakina. As the surviving crew members later said, it was “Agrorechtur” that gave the captain the order to release the ship from Bolgar no matter what. In July 2014, Inyakina received 9.5 years in prison for providing services that did not meet safety requirements.

In September 2015, the media wrote that Svetlana Inyakina was granted an amnesty in honor of the 70th anniversary of the Victory, and her sentence was reduced by a third. Relatives of the crash victims called it a spit in the soul. In an interview back in 2012, she admitted that she plans to continue working on river boats. Well, how will he get out from behind bars?

The ship's chief mate, Ramil Khametov, was sentenced to 6.6 years in prison, but in 2015 the term was reduced to 4.7 years. Gosmorrechnadzor officials Irek Timergazeev and Vladislav Semenov were sentenced to 11 years between them for abuse of power. Senior expert of Rosrechregister Yakov Ivashov also received a sentence of 5.5 years in prison.

Three sisters from Volgograd, Nina Chesnokova, Tatyana Peshekhodko and Lidiya Anisimova, celebrated Tatyana's birthday on "Bulgaria". The woman decided to gather her relatives in such an unusual way. Lydia did not survive the fatal flight.

Kirill Chernov was given a ticket for his fifth birthday by his grandparents. The parents stayed at home, and the boy and his family went on a trip. Only grandfather, Nikolai, survived the crash. On July 11, Kirill would have turned five years old. With the money that the parents received as compensation, it was decided to build a children's park in their native village of Krasnogorsky, Zvenigovsky district, Mari El Republic.

Almaz Khairutdinov’s parents, Rilya and Ainur, went to Bolgar on a cruise. They never returned from there. The grandmothers were able to tell the five-year-old boy about what happened only a year after the tragedy. “Sleep well, mommy and daddy,” the boy said as they left the grave.

July 12 has been declared a day of national mourning in connection with the death of the cruise ship "Bulgaria", which sank on the Volga in Tatarstan. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev announced this at an emergency meeting in Gorki.

“Yesterday a disaster occurred. Many of our people died. We are ready to express our condolences. I have decided to declare tomorrow a day of national mourning,” Medvedev said.

A decision was made to raise the passenger ship "Bulgaria", which sank on Sunday afternoon in Tatarstan, said the head of Rosmorrechflot Alexander Davydenko. In total, according to various sources, there were from 196 to 208 people on board, including 59 children. 12 people are listed as dead, about 80 people were saved, the fate of the rest is unknown.

The vessel will be lifted using barge platforms, the head of Rosmorrechflot said. The head of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of the Russian Federation, Sergei Shoigu, said that the operation to raise the vessel should be planned on July 11 before 15.00 Moscow time. He said that in the work to raise the vessel it is planned to use two special cranes from Volgograd, which, as the head of Rosmorrechflot noted, will arrive at the scene of the emergency within four to five days.

“At the same time, search and rescue operations will continue. Special equipment has been sent to the scene of the incident - robots and equipment for cutting the ship’s hull,” Shoigu said.

It was impossible to carry people on the Bulgaria. This little boat was barely breathing; it was over fifty years old. It twitched and stopped every now and then...

Rescuers, having examined the interior of the motor ship "Bulgaria" that sank in Tatarstan on the morning of July 11, found a large number of dead there, Igor Panshin, head of the Volga regional center of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of the Russian Federation, told reporters. The vessel is located at a depth of 20 meters, 3 kilometers from the shore of the Kuibyshev reservoir near the village of Syukeevo, Kansko-Ustinovsky district.

As Oleg Pavlov, a correspondent for Radio Liberty in Kazan, reports, by the end of the day on July 11, it is planned to completely complete the search work at the crash site of the Bulgaria. According to rescuers, there is no hope that anyone else managed to survive. Apparently, the divers saw something inside the ship that allows them to make such confident statements.

Currently, about 40 divers are working at the scene of the disaster, the RS correspondent reports, and in the near future, according to Rustam Minnikhanov, who headed the operational headquarters of the President of Tatarstan, the number of divers will be increased to 100. Apparently, they will have the sad job of removing the bodies of the dead. The fact that they are there is certain, if only because many eyewitnesses who were saved by the motor ship Arabella, which followed, say that literally a few minutes before the ship crashed, at least 30 children were taken into the music salon to spend time there. entertainment activities. Agencies cite the figure as 50 children. It is precisely this circumstance - dozens of children in a locked music salon - that many eyewitnesses talk about.

Most of the survivors thank the crew of the motor ship Arabella, because it was they who pulled the bulk of the people out of the water. At the same time, the agencies cite the story of a certain Nikolai Chernov - one of the rescued - who claims that during the one and a half to two hours that he and other passengers spent on the raft, two cargo ships passed by them, on board one was the name "Volganeft". "We waved at them, but they didn't stop. Only Arabella saved us."

The double-deck motor ship, built back in 1955 at the Narodny Podnik Skoda Komarno shipyard in Czechoslovakia, sank during a thunderstorm with heavy rain. The ship was traveling from the city of Bolgar to Kazan. Data on the number of passengers on board the ship is constantly changing. At first it was reported that there were 185 of them, then the Ministry of Emergency Situations named the figure at 199 people. The press service of the President of Tatarstan claims that there could have been 208 people on board the Bulgaria.

This cruise can be called one big scam and deception! The portholes that were located in the cabin periodically leaked, which made one terrified of drowning...

On the morning of July 11, the figure was different: Tatarstan President Rustam Minnikhanov, who arrived at the scene of the disaster, told reporters that there were 196 people on the Bulgaria. “196 people are those who were on board. Fifteen people are not on the list (they did not buy tour packages),” he said. According to the head of the republic, none of the dead have yet been identified. According to the Ministry of Emergency Situations, 80 people were rescued.

Search efforts are complicated by difficult weather conditions - strong winds. According to Panshin, it is difficult for divers to approach the ship - “a strong current turns it under water, and it rolls over from one side to the other.”

According to a representative of the Ministry of Emergency Situations, this department does not have information about two ships that allegedly passed near the crash site but did not provide assistance. Eyewitnesses reported this earlier.

As a Radio Liberty correspondent reports, residents of Kazan are in a dejected state. Many people refuse or intend to refuse travel. Travel agencies said that they would pay the “refuseniks” 100 percent of the cost of the tours. Water travel is indeed very popular in Kazan; during the season, only one travel agency sells from 10 to 12 thousand vouchers for river cruises.

“It was impossible to carry people on the Bulgaria. This little boat was barely breathing, it was more than fifty years old. It twitched, stopped every now and then... And sometimes it ran aground,” Nizhny Novgorod resident Artem Smirnov told Free Press. , who previously worked as an animator on this ship. According to him, the ship was repaired at every anchorage - “it was falling apart.” “There were a lot of violations there. We sighed with relief at the end of the flights,” adds Artem.

Artyom’s colleague Maxim Veselovsky says: “Mostly pensioners went on the fourth deck. A ticket there costs 1,250 rubles. Did they get out? Due to the low speed, this wreck sailed through some stops. Because of this, the number of excursions was reduced. The rights of passengers were constantly violated ".

On the Vodaflot forum you can find the following reviews about travel on the ship "Bulgaria":

"06/19-21/06 we ended up on this “wonderful” ship. This cruise can be called one big scam and deception! The company did not fulfill a single condition of the contract! It all started with a simple delay of the ship, as we were told there was an inspection of the ship in Kazan. The food leaves much to be desired . The plates resembled a UFO with small piles. I had a hard time with the water. But it was such an emerald color that it was worth thinking about before drinking! The toilet and shower are a different story.... The portholes that were in the cabin periodically flowed, which suggested horror of drowning... When, out of necessity, we turned to the administrator with a request to tell us where the doctor was (we needed pills for fever), we were told with surprise that he simply did not exist and never existed. And the garbage that sunbathed with us and went out. .. All the garbage was stored outside the restaurant window and it is not known how long it was rolled back and forth!”

According to the Kommersant newspaper, the owner of 52.25% of the shares of OJSC Shipping Company Kama River Shipping Company (KRP) is the company Antonov Group-F.Z.E., registered in the United Arab Emirates. These data appear in the quarterly list of affiliates published recently. Previously, this package belonged to the Cyprus offshore Danehill Investments Ltd of the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the JSC Mikhail Antonov. Another 32.13% of the shares of the joint-stock company belong to the Federal Property Management Agency.

Project 785 motor ships, to which Bulgaria belongs, are medium-sized passenger ships designed to operate on fast passenger lines. Initially, they had 1-, 2-, 4-, 6- and 8-berth cabins, but during the modernization of the ships, large-capacity cabins were refurbished to increase comfort. The ships were equipped with two lifeboats instead of four.

In total, from 1955 to 1958, 36 diesel-electric ships were built under Project 785. The ships were operated on the Volga, Kama, Don, Yenisei, Ob, Irtysh and Dnieper. Some ships are used as hotels and recreation centers. After the sinking of the Bulgaria, four motor ships remained in operation on Russian rivers: Pyotr Alabin (built in 1954), Rimsky-Korsakov (built in 1956), Composer Glazunov (built in 1956) and M . Yu. Lermontov" (1958 release).

The sinking of the motor ship "Bulgaria" was the largest disaster on Russian rivers in almost 30 years, Interfax reports. And if we take into account the Admiral Nakhimov, which sank in the Black Sea in 1986, Sunday’s tragedy on the Volga is one of the three largest in terms of the number of victims in recent decades.

At 19.45 Moscow time, the number of confirmed victims of the disaster on the Volga of the motor ship "Bulgaria" increased to 55 people.

As Interfax reports, with reference to the State River Navigation Inspectorate of the Volga Basin, in the Volga waters near Saratov, the ship "Kompozitor Glazunov" with 85 tourists on board was stopped and moored to the river station. "Composer Glazunov" was traveling from Astrakhan to Yaroslavl. This is a ship similar to the sunken Bulgaria. Inspectors intend to check it as a preventative measure.

* * *
Tatarstan President Rustam Minnikhanov said on the afternoon of July 11 that information about the ships that did not provide assistance to the dying Bulgaria was being checked. At the request of Radio Liberty correspondent Kirill Filimonov, he commented on the behavior of the crews of the ships allegedly sailing past Igor Karpov, who worked in the navy as an assistant captain for almost 40 years:

– This is a violation of the maritime code, and all boatmasters know this very well. When they see people dying, they should immediately try to save them. Stop, launch boats, rafts - everything that is possible... Therefore, if everything really happened like that, the captains are definitely to blame. I know of cases where captains received real prison sentences for not stopping and helping a sinking ship.

– What should a captain do when he sees a sinking ship or receives a signal about it?

- First of all, he stops the ship. Lifeboats, of which there are at least two, are lowered into the water. The crew must be specially trained to rescue people. There are means on the ship with which they try to save people: they are pulled out of the water, put into boats and taken to the ship.

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Fifty psychologists will work with relatives of those killed on the Bulgaria. As Interfax reports, a decision has been made to increase the number of psychologists working with passengers and crew members of the Bulgaria ship, as well as with relatives of the victims. Currently, four psychologists from the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Tatarstan, three specialists from Nizhny Novgorod and seven from Moscow are engaged in this work. In the coming hours, specialists from St. Petersburg, Rostov and Krasnoyarsk will arrive to help them.

The bodies of the children who were at the children's entertainment area "Bulgaria" can only be lifted with the help of vessels equipped with cranes, Interfax reported, citing its source in the rescue group. Divers said that there were about 40 bodies of dead children in the children's room. The room is located in the hold, where a children's room with a sandbox was built. Rescuers were unable to retrieve the bodies, so they need special equipment that is capable of completing the task of lifting the ship.

Radio Liberty is following developments.