110 bodies trapped in sunken boat - Florida Maritime Attorneys
Divers searching the wreck of a Russian Volga river boat reportedly saw more than one hundred corpses trapped inside the pleasure craft when they recovered dozens of bodies Monday. A few dozen divers working with underwater lights searched the Bulgaria, a double-decked boat built in 1955 that survivors said listed to its side and sank in minutes Sunday during stormy weather with more than 200 people on board. That's nearly 75 percent more than the 120 the boat was licensed to carry, officials said.
The death toll rose to 41 on Monday, with about 80 people still missing a day after the accident, Russian Emergency Ministry officials said.
Eighty people were rescued, most of them climbing aboard a passing boat after more than an hour in the water, but there is little hope anyone else has survived. "According to the divers, the chances of finding anyone alive are minimal," she said.
An estimated 110 bodies, including those of at least 30 children, remained in the sunken ship, the Interfax news agency cited a regional search and rescue service as saying.
As many as 60 of the passengers may have been children, Russian media reported, and survivors said some 30 children had gathered in a room near the stern of the ship to play just minutes before it sank.