MOSCOW, February 7 (RAPSI) – The Moscow Commercial Court has collected 2.3 million rubles (about $39,000) from infamous “Park-Hotel “Syamozero”, where 14 children drowned last summer, on a claim filed by the Department of labor and social protection, according to court records.

On June 18, 2016, children and the camp’s instructors were sailing on a raft and two canoes over the lake Syamozero in Karelia. 47 children were accompanied by 4 adults, who did not take gathering storm into account. Storm made sailing extremely dangerous: a raft with children and two adults washed up near one of the islands while both canoes were capsized, leaving passengers in the open waters.

Only some managed to swim across to the shore. According to the Investigative Committee, 14 children drowned. Other children survived and were evacuated. The camp has been closed.

Elena Reshetova, the director of Syamozero Park Hotel camp, her deputy, Vadim Vinogradov, and the camp’s instructor, Valery Krupodershikov have been charged with rendering of services in violation of safety protocol which accidentally lead two or more people to death. They were also accused of leaving people in danger.

Investigators believe that Reshetova, Vinogradov and Krupodershikov deliberately refused to notify local emergency services about the accident to prevent negative reaction of society from ruining camp’s reputation and inflicting losses. They are believed to abandon children in water during the storm.

In August, the Commercial Court of the Republic of Karelia fined “Park-Hotel “Syamozero” 200,000 rubles ($3,000). The court thus granted a lawsuit lodged by the republican Health Ministry demanding to hold the camp administratively liable. According to court records, the ministry’s claim was conditioned by licensing violation committed by the defendant.