KAMSKOYE USTYE, Russia : Russian rescuers recovered nearly 50 bodies on Monday from an overcrowded pleasure boat that sank in the Volga River in an accident the Kremlin blamed on disregard for safety.
Divers reported raising 48 bodies off the vessel, the Bulgaria, which went down in a heavy storm on Sunday on one of Russia's main rivers with 208 people on board.
Only 80 people were rescued in the first moments after the accident and no one was found alive on Monday despite an all-night search involving dozens of divers, support vessels and helicopters.
Stunned relatives huddled in a group near the shore waiting to hear about their loved ones, though hope was in short supply amid reports that at least 30 children may have disappeared on the sunken 56-year-old craft.
President Dmitry Medvedev proclaimed Tuesday a day of national mourning and demanded a complete review of all Russian transport.
"We have enough old tubs floating around," Medvedev sternly told a government meeting in reference to outdated vessels.
"Based on the information we have today, the ship was in an unsuitable condition," Medvedev said in nationally televised remarks.
"We can already say today that the accident would not have happened had the safety requirements been met... despite the weather conditions."
One of Medvedev's top ministers told the government meeting that the craft was filled well beyond capacity when it sailed in breach of basic regulations from the central Russian city of Kazan, about 800 kilometres (500 miles) east of Moscow.
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