ODESSA, Ukraine – The captain of an overloaded pleasure boat which sank in the Black Sea near the Ukrainian city of Odessa has been detained, officials said Sunday as the death toll rose to 14.
Local officials said the vessel, which went down in a heavy storm on Saturday, October 17, had no life jackets and had too many people on board.
"Two people who were reported missing have been found dead," an interior ministry spokeswoman told Agence France-Presse.
The pleasure boat "Ivolga" was carrying 36 people, including three crew, when it sank. According to the latest information from the emergency services, 22 people were rescued, while 14 drowned.
The boat only had a permit to carry 12 passengers and three crew, according to Ukraine's Infrastructure Minister Andriy Pyvovarsky.
"If the captain had followed all the instructions, there would never have been 36 people on board, only 12 passengers and three crew members," he said in a statement Sunday.
Odessa regional governor Mikhail Saakashvili, the ex-president of Georgia, blamed the accident on the negligence of both the crew and the authorities.
"I think I can say that this is a direct consequence of the complete negligence and absolutely criminal attitude of both the boat's crew and the services in charge of ensuring such things do not happen," he said.
Odessa regional prosecutor David Sakvarelidze said the boat's captain had been detained and an investigation launched into violations of safety regulations, a charge which can carry a sentence of up to 10 years in prison.
Local official Volodymyr Jmak on Saturday blamed the storm and the absence of life jackets for the tragedy.– Rappler.com