A boat carrying tourists capsized in Lake Baikal. There were 18 people on board, five of whom died, including the ship’s captain. It is possible that the cause of the accident was overweight – the boat is designed to accommodate only 10 people. The company organizing the tour is owned by the wife of a former official. The woman was previously nominated for the position of Tourism Minister of Buryatia. The main thing about the tragedy and its possible causes is contained in the materials from the “Moscow Evening”.
How the boat capsized with tourists
The boat capsized while swimming across Lake Baikal in the Republic of Buryatia on Tuesday, May 19. This happened in the Turtle Rock area.
Footage from the scene of the boat capsize in Lake Baikal / Video: Press service of the East Siberian Transport Prosecutor’s Office
They added, “According to preliminary data, the Kivos boat capsized today in the Turtle area, about 30 meters from the shore.” Regional Prosecutor’s Office.
There were 18 people on board. Most of them were adults aged 40 to 66, who were also among the passengers 14 year old boy. As a result of the boat capsizing, five people died, including the ship’s captain.
30 employees from the Ministry of Emergency Situations quickly arrived at the scene. They rescued the surviving passengers. One of the tourists was taken to the hospital with a torn wound in his leg. Meanwhile, the boat was towed to shore, and the bodies of most of the dead were taken out of the water and sent for examination. The body of the ship’s captain at the time the article was published Not found.
Why did the boat capsize?
It was the boat Fully functionalInitially, the cause of tipping may be due to overloading. According to TASS, the boat was designed to hold 10 people, but at the time of the tragedy there were almost twice as many passengers on board.
They say: “According to preliminary data, the boat was overloaded, with more people on board than allowed by the operating rules of this vessel.” Operational services.
All passengers came to ride along Lake Baikal from Moscow and the Moscow region. According to the Telegram channel The ruleThe tour was organized by KrisTur company from Stupino. The trip was designed for 10 days and started in Ulan-Ude, and after crossing Lake Baikal the tourists were supposed to visit China and Mongolia. All this cost 65 thousand rubles.
The company agreed to transport tourists across BaikalBaikal crystal“, This cost each traveler an additional five thousand rubles. In 2025, the company took 12th place in the rating of Buryat travel agencies in terms of revenue.
Officially, “Crystal Baikal” is owned by the wife of the former head of the Buryatian rural settlement of Turkinskoye, Sergei Severgin, Marina. shot The woman has been in the business for more than 10 years, he writes, and is responsible for logistics, team selection, finance and promotion. She previously ran for the position of Minister of Tourism of Buryatia.
Prosecutors believe the company is in fact owned by Sergei Severgin – and he is allegedly ‘covering up’ Private illegal actions Through my wife. The official was removed from his post in February 2026 after he declared income of six million rubles. He claimed that all this money His wife won. But they did not believe Sergei, and after his dismissal the state recovered from him all the money secretly transferred to his wife.
Previously, supervisory agencies were already paying attention to Crystal Baikal. In 2025, companies issued a warning due to transporting passengers across Lake Baikal Without a license. Customers also once complained that there were 16 people on the boat at one time. According to them, the captain initially refused to receive tourists, but the tour operators convinced him. The company also refused to refund flights to dissatisfied customers.
Criminal case and inspection
Law enforcement agencies were at the scene. Prosecutor’s Office of Transport of Eastern Siberia Inspection organized Compliance with navigation safety legislation. The Investigative Committee opened a criminal case.
“The investigating authorities opened a criminal case on the basis of a crime under Article ‘Provision of services that do not meet the requirements for the safety of life and health of consumers, resulting in the death of more than two people due to negligence’ of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation,” they reported in Sledcom press service.
Forensic experts examined the capsized ship and began to determine the circumstances of the tragedy. Orders have been issued to conduct a number of forensic examinations. The arrest of the owners of the company that organized the Baikal crossing was not reported.
A similar tragedy occurred in the spring of 2025, when a submarine carrying 45 Russians sank in Egypt. It was established that during an underwater voyage, the ship collided with a coral reef, after which a depressurization occurred on board. At least seven people died, including a child.