9 killed when boat hits barge on Moscow River

MOSCOW (AP):

AN OVERLOADED motorboat crashed into a docked barge on the Moscow River in predawn darkness Sunday, killing nine of the 16 people on board, officials said. The other seven passengers swam to safety or were rescued as the boat quickly sank.

Vladimir Markin, the spokesman for the main investigative agency, laid the blame on the owner and captain of the boat, who was among those killed.

Markin said the owner, Gennady Zinger, had been found in violation of regulations three times in the past, including for exceeding the boat's maximum capacity of 12. The boat was carrying 16 people when it crashed.

Survivors questioned

He said investigators have questioned the survivors and also four crew members of the Oka-5 barge who had helped to rescue them.

The survivors included a man identifying himself as a Turkish citizen and another who said he works at the US Embassy, Markin said. The citizenship of the embassy employee was not known.

Crews used a floating crane to lift the 40-foot (12-metre) black boat, which had sunk to the bottom of the river and was lying beneath the barge. Hundreds of people crowded along the riverbank to watch the operation, which took place across the water from the Luzhniki soccer stadium.

Emergencies Ministry officials said one body still had not been recovered.

The Moscow River, which runs past the Kremlin as it makes a large loop through the Russian capital, is plied by a steady stream of freight barges and tour boats on summer days. Private motorboats have become more popular in recent years, although their numbers remain small.