You're reading: Criminal case opened on collision of Ukrainian fishing boat with Russian coast guard ship

A criminal case has been opened regarding the collision of a Russian coast guard vessel with a Ukrainian fishing boat in the Sea of Azov, in which the fishing boat capsized, killing four Ukrainian citizens, the press service of Main Military Investigative Department of the Russian Investigative Committee reported.

“A criminal case under Article 352 of the Russian Criminal Code has been opened (breach of shipping rules). A forensic examination of the dead bodies has been scheduled,” reads the report from the press service received by Interfax on Monday.

According to the investigation, on July 17, in a region closed for navigation in the Sea of Azov, the chief of the patrol boat found a small vessel without registration markings and decided to approach it.

“During the pursuit the boats collided, and as a result a small size boat turned over and sank. The border guards picked up a citizen of Ukraine, who reported that there were four other people in the boat,” reads the press release.

According to it, next day three unidentified bodies were recovered, and the search for another missing person is continuing.

As reported, a Ukrainian boat collided with a Russian Coast Guard vessel off the Russian village of Vorontsovka in the Sea of Azov at around 6:00 p.m. on July 17. The fishing boat capsized, killing four Ukrainian citizens. One fisherman was rescued.

The Ukrainian citizen, rescued after the incident, is in a serious but stable condition after he being operated on at a hospital in Yeisk.

Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych ordered his government to search for the Ukrainians who went missing as a result of the incident.