Russian captain faces criminal charges over sinking

A criminal case has been opened against the captain of a ship that failed to come to the aid of a cruise boat that sank with the loss of at least 114 lives in Russia’s Volga River on July 10, prosecutors said on Tuesday. Yuly Tuchin, the captain of the Arbat cargo vessel, faces up to two years behind bars if found guilty of deliberately ignoring a vessel in distress. Survivors from the sinking cruise boat, the Bulgaria, were eventually picked up by another riverboat, the MV Arabella, where they received medical assistance. Of the 208 people on board the Bulgaria, 79 were saved, while 15 remain unaccounted for. Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has blamed “irresponsibly, negligence and greed” for the tragedy. The Bulgaria was critically overloaded and operators had no license to organize cruises. It was operated by what turned out to be an inexperienced crew and for several crewmembers it had been their first official trip. Some of the crew were aged 17-18, including a sailor, a trainee, cooks, waitresses and entertainers.