Four people killed, six missing, 46 injured in Siberia after a river boat crash which was caused by a drunk captain, claimed police.
Irtysh river embanjkment in Omsk, Siberia. Picture: The Siberian Times
The passenger vessel veered in front of a barge on the Irtysh River near Omsk.
'Four people died as a result of the collision, and 46 were injured, of whom 14, including two children, are in a serious condition', said a police source.
Later it was reported six people were missing.
'A criminal investigation has been opened into the violation of safety rules," said a spokesman for the Russian Investigative Committee, equivalent of the FBI.
The captain of the Polesye-8 was being questioned by police and "has obvious signs of alcohol intoxication", reported Itar-Tass.
The horror was on the Irtysh River close to the city of Omsk.
It is the latest in a succession of boat tragedies in Russia amid concerns over breaches of safety rules. Two years ago 122 people perished when a riverboat sank on the Volga River, and a further 16 after a collision between a boat and a barge on the Moscow River.
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