Death toll rises to 17 in Ukraine's fishing boat accident
Xinhua, October 21, 2015 Adjust font size:
Three more bodies were found in the waters of the Black Sea near Ukraine's southern port city of Odessa, bringing the death toll in Saturday's fishing boat accident to 17, local authorities said Wednesday.
The search operation at the scene of the accident is still under way to look for more bodies, the Interior Ministry's regional department in Odessa said in a statement.
The exact number of people who have died in the incident was still unknown as the captain of the vessel gave false information to the authorities on the number of people aboard.
The captain said that the boat was carrying 36 people when the boat capsized, but rescued passengers said that between 40 and 44 people were aboard.
On Saturday, fishing boat Ivolga, which could accommodate only up to 13 people, capsized and sank 1 km off the shore in a thunderstorm. Initially, 14 people were confirmed dead in the incident, while 22 people were rescued.
The captain of the vessel has been detained and investigation into the accident is under way. Endi