MOSCOW, May 28 (UPI) -- Five people have pleaded guilty for their roles in a sunken ferry that killed 122 people in Russia in 2011, prosecutors said.
Two of the guilty pleas came from the owner and captain who operated the ArgoRechTur. Two government officials who were responsible for inspecting the boat's seaworthiness and issuing its permit also pleaded guilty, ITAR-Tass said Tuesday.
The guilty pleas come as the defendants were supposed to stand trial for their roles in the maritime disaster.
Among the charges were that the boat's owner was aware of its structural deficiencies but leaned on acquaintances in local government to get the boat approved despite its problems. Crew members were deficient in safety procedures. Additionally, when the boat was built in the 1950s, it was only meant to hold 120 people.
More than 200 people were on board when it sank in a reservoir in the central Russian province of Tatarstan. Seventy-nine individuals survived.
