Death toll of sunken tourist ship case reaches 5 people

SAMARA, July 11 (Itar-Tass) -- The official death toll of the sunken
MS Bulgaria tragedy reached five people, namely four women and a little
girl, the chief of the Volga regional emergencies center Igor Panshin said
on Monday.
People were found dead on the boat deck, he said. Forty divers were
searching through the sunken ship all night long. "The sunken tourist ship
is turning from one board to another by the river current and the fuel is
leaking from the fuel tanks" that impedes the search operation, Panshin
said. However, the divers "succeeded to bring the light to the restaurant
rooms and the holds, where dead people are seen."
"The divers have made eight descents for the past night. The current
top priority is to search at the music hall, where many children were
staying," Panshin said.
Speaking on the causes of the tragedy the chief of the Volga regional
emergencies center noted that he has "only the testimony of the
eyewitnesses, who said that the vessel developed a strong list on the
starboard in an attempt to change the route and was flooded by high
waves." "The ship has been keeping afloat for about eight minutes,"
Panshin pointed out.
The Bulgaria tourist ship had 185 people aboard, 79 people were saved,
the death toll reached five people so far and 101 people are reported
missing. According to preliminary reports, six people were ticketless. Not
more than 120 people were to stay aboard the ship according to the
regulations.
The ship wreckage victims will be brought to Kazan, Panshin said.
The search area was enlarged to 25 kilometers down the Volga River, as
the initial search zone was 20 kilometers down the river, he noted.