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Follow the link to learn moreFour people have been killed and nearly 50 others injured in a collision between a passenger ship and a barge on the Irtysh river in the Omsk region, on Saturday, the Emergency Situations Ministry told Interfax.
All those injured have been evacuated to the ground and will be transported to hospitals in the near future, it said.
A collision could have happened due to a violation of navigation rules by one of the crews or a mechanical failure, a source with the Omsk regional technical oversight agency told Interfax
"A violation of navigation rules is currently being considered among the primary causes of the incident. The collision happened [while the vessels were moving] at full speed, and it has not yet been determined which crew violated these rules," the source said.
A mechanical failure is also among the possible causes, he said.
The Transport Ministry reported earlier that "preliminary findings indicate that the collision happened due to the Polesye-8 ship's deviation from its course."
The Interior Ministry department for the Omsk region told Interfax earlier that "the helmsman was steering the ship while intoxicated."
