Sinking of Bulgaria

On 10 July 2011, the passenger ship was traveling in Tatarstan on the Volga River when she was caught in a storm and sank at about 13:58 Moscow time (09:58 UTC), several hours after beginning her cruise.

Survivors say that during the cruise, Bulgaria encountered stormy weather, and listed sharply to starboard. This was apparently compounded by the captain trying to turn the boat around, and soon water rushed into the vessel through portholes that had been opened because the ship had no air conditioning. According to a survivor, the sinking came without warning, and the vessel "listed to starboard ... and capsized and sank. The boat sank within minutes, plunging nearly to the river bed. The sinking occurred about from shore, in the Kamsko-Ustyinsky District.

Causes

Preliminary investigations found that safety violations may have contributed to the accident. One survivor of the incident indicated that the crew had locked or sealed off the vessel's emergency exit doors, while investigators believe that the vessel left with a list to the starboard, likely from either sewage tanks or fuel tanks on the starboard side being full and thus resulting in lower than maximum performance from one or more engines.

Casualties

People's memorial in Kazan riverport At the time of the incident, Bulgaria{{'}}s total complement of passengers and crew is estimated to have been at 201, though she was only rated to carry 120. On 11 July 2011, a government official from the Ministry of Emergency Situations said that the likelihood of finding additional survivors was slim, leaving a presumed total of up to 129 dead.

Seventy-nine people (56 passengers and 23 crew members) were reported to have survived. Of those, 76 were rescued by the cruise ship Arabella, a few others were saved by other boats, and one swam to the shore.

Reaction

Russian president Dmitry Medvedev holds a moment of silence, 11 July 2011. President Dmitry Medvedev on 11 July ordered "a complete check on all means of passenger transport" in Russia in response to the sinking of Bulgaria, and also declared 12 July a national day of mourning for those killed in the incident.