A tourist group, consisting mostly of children, has been caught in a strong lake storm in Karelia, northwest Russia, according to the authorities.
One of the instructors who organized the boat trip in Karelia has been detained, Vladimir Markin, Investigative Committee spokesman, said in a statement.
"Within the framework of a criminal investigation, a legal assessment will be given to the actions of the staff of the children's camp and other responsible parties, which send the children boating in such bad weather," Markin said.
Russian Children's Rights Commissioner Pavel Astakhov said that the cause of children's death could have been the lack of life jackets on the boats.
Following the tragedy, reports emerged that weather forecast warned of worsening weather in the region, but that did not stop the organizers from proceeding with the lake trip. Investigators detained one of the instructors, who accompanied the group of tourists, and seized the documentation from the camp.
A local resident also told RT that the boat trip was "a bad idea" because of the weather conditions in the region.
"The wind was mad yesterday. It's a crime to let children go on a voyage on the lake," the woman said, adding that the camp was not a place she would recommend people to send their children to: instructors at the camp were regularly drunk, and not long ago a security officer was killed on the camp's premises.
The incident took place at the Lake Syamozero, a large freshwater lake in the Republic of Karelia.
Russian General Prosecutor's office has opened a criminal investigation.
