KAZAN, Russia -- The captain of a Russian cargo vessel who was charged with failing to rescue passengers from a nearby sinking boat has avoided going to prison.
Aleksandr Yegorov, captain of the cargo vessel "Dunaisky-66," had pleaded not guilty to charges he failed to take action to help victims of the "Bulgaria" tourist boat, a
vessel that sank in the Volga River in July, killing 122 people.
As his trial, which ended on February 28 in the Russian republic of Tatarstan, Yegorov was found guilty of passing the sinking tourist boat without helping the passengers.
The court chose not to issue a custodial sentence but imposed a fine worth the equivalent of $6,500.
The "Bulgaria" tragedy was Russia's worst river-boat disaster in decades.