MOSCOW (Sputnik) — On Saturday, several boats carrying a 51-member group, consisting of children and their adult instructors, capsized in Karelia's Syamozero lake during a storm. According to the Investigative Committee, 14 people died, all of them children. Russian Children's Rights Commissioner Pavel Astakhov later stated that 15 children died in the incident.
"Medvedev held a phone conversation with the head of the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations, Vladimir Puchkov, and instructed to provide all help and support necessary to the relatives of the victims," the government's press service said on Sunday.
The prime minister also instructed Russia's Ministry of Education and Science and Labor Ministry to carry out additional checks of children's health institutions, specifically those located near bodies of water and which conduct leisure activities on water, the statement added.
