Nizhny Novgorod, July 11 (Interfax) - The MS Bulgaria ship, which wrecked in Tatarstan on Sunday, was out of order, the Volga Transport Investigations Department of the Russian Investigations Committee said on Monday.
"Initial investigative procedures showed that the vessel had a left engine defect but went on the voyage from Kazan anyway. It also appeared that the vessel titled to the right when it departed from Bolgary at 11:15 a.m. on July 10. That could be the consequence of full sewage tanks, fuel in the right tank only or something else," the department said.
No storm warning was issued on July 10 (although winds of 18 meters per second were expected), but the crew said that "the weather worsened suddenly and hard winds blew when the maneuvering vessel toppled."
"Open portholes on the lower deck could be another reason why river water poured inside," the department said.
Rescued passengers and sailors have been questioned, and documentation has been taken from the ship sub charterer, Agrorechtur, the ship owner, the Kama River Shipping Company and the ship charterer, Briz.
The wreck site is being examined.
A strong current, bad weather and fuel leaking from the ship complicate the work of the divers.
Divers searching the wreck of a boat reportedly saw more than one hundred corpses trapped inside the pleasure craft when they recovered eight bodies.
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 on Sunday during stormy weather with nearly 200 people on board.
