13 children, one adult die in summer boat trip on Russian lake

At least 13 children and their adult instructor have died in a storm while boating on a lake in northwest Russia, region of  Karelia.

The three boats were carrying 47 children and four adults taking part in a camping trip when the boats capsized on Saturday in a storm in Syamozero, 75 miles east of the border with Finland. 

Russia's Emergencies ministry (EMECOM) told state news agency RIA Novosti, at least 36 people had been rescued.

Vladimir Kucherenko, director of a local tourist company said, "most of the children had apparently died from hypothermia, given that the water temperature in the lake was between 8*C to 10*C (46*F to 50*F). A strong winds might have driven the boats out into the lake, making it hard for children to get to the shore."

Some of the rescued children are being treated at a local hospital for hypothermia, but they are expected to make a full recovery, emergency personnel said.

Repeated warnings of an approaching Atlantic storm had been issued days ahead of the storm, and people were advised to not go for boating on a lake, Alexei Gavrilov, a local politician said on Rossiya 24 television, "they didn't have the right to go out boating."

The federal investigative committee has launched a criminal investigation. One instructor has been arrested, but it's not immediately clear what charges the instructor might face.



source:
The Guardian