On Monday evening, after a thirteen hour struggle by firefighters, a fire on a passenger vessel moored at a Moscow river port was finally put out.

        The motor ship "Sergey Abramov", was located in the Northern part of Moscow, near the Rechnoi Vokzal metro station, and used as a hotel and a restaurant during the winter and spring seasons.

      According to preliminary investigation, the fire started on the lower deck at 4.00 a.m. Moscow time (1.00 GMT) then it spread to the second and the third decks, then the engine caught fire too. The fire was only confined after 13 hours.

      At that time about 15 passengers ans 16 crew members were on the board. Five people were taken out of the fire, two of them were seriously injured and taken to the hospital. No casualties were reported, though one member of the crew, the vessel's mechanic, is still considered to be missing.

      Experts say the fire might have been caused by defective electric wiring or carelessness with open flame.

      The "Sergey Abramov" was built in 1960 in Czechoslovakia and was renovated in 2003. The ship was believed to be quite secure and was often used for pleasure cruises to cities along the river. The vessel even featured as the main scene of action in a Russian popular comedy film "Election Day" (Den Vyborov)

        Prosecutor General's Office will inspect the following of safety fire regulations by all Russian water transport companies. Such inspections have already been initiated in summer 2011, when the "Bulgaria" river cruise ship sank in the Volga River outside of the city of Kazan in the Republic of Tatarstan. 122 people were killed in the tragedy then.  

Sources: Lenta.ru RIA Novosti Gazeta.ru

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      Bulgaria ship accident. Corruption and indifference played their roles (July 15, 2011) 

      Russia Mourns the Victims of the Bulgaria Ship Accident (10.07.2011)

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