The captain of a ship that collided with a barge on a Russian river, killing six passengers and injuring almost 50, has pleaded guilty to negligence.
The 51-year-old captain, Yury Ratko, confessed in court on August 19 that he had consumed alcohol a day before the tragedy, in breach of regulations.
He was immediately arrested and sent to a pretrial detention center.
The accident happened on August 17 on the Irtysh River, near the city of Omsk in western Siberia.
The passenger ship was an express ferry to a local monastery popular with Orthodox Christians from Siberia and northern regions of neighboring Kazakhstan.
Local officials in Omsk Oblast announced that August 21 would be a day of mourning.
The 51-year-old captain, Yury Ratko, confessed in court on August 19 that he had consumed alcohol a day before the tragedy, in breach of regulations.
He was immediately arrested and sent to a pretrial detention center.
The accident happened on August 17 on the Irtysh River, near the city of Omsk in western Siberia.
The passenger ship was an express ferry to a local monastery popular with Orthodox Christians from Siberia and northern regions of neighboring Kazakhstan.
Local officials in Omsk Oblast announced that August 21 would be a day of mourning.
