OREANDA-NEWS. July 11, 2011. Emergencies Minister Sergei Shoigu briefed Dmitry Medvedev by telephone on the rescue operations underway at the site of the cruise ship Bulgaria’s sinking.

Mr Medvedev instructed Head of the Investigative Committee Alexander Bastrykin to set up a group to investigate what caused the ship to sink and identify who was responsible. Dmitry Medvedev also instructed President of Tatarstan Rustam Minnikhanov to provide all necessary assistance to the victims’ families.

Today, at 14;00 the Emergencies Ministry Chief Directorate in Tatarstan received the alert from the Kazan river traffic controller that the captain of a passing ship, the Arabella, had sent in information that the river cruise ship Bulgaria had sunk near the village of Syukeyevo.