Two people were killed and more than 20 injured after a floating crane capsized in annexed Sevastopol’s southern bay, the city’s Moscow-installed Governor Mikhail Razvozhayev said Monday.
The victims were identified as an electromechanic and a sailor.
The accident happened during maintenance work at the Sevastopol Marine Plant when “an abnormal situation” caused the vessel to overturn, Razvozhayev said. Seven of the injured were hospitalized, he added.
A special commission will investigate the cause of the incident.
Russia’s Investigative Committee for Crimea and Sevastopol has opened a criminal case relating to safety violations in maritime transport that resulted in multiple deaths.
Investigators said the collapse occurred during tests of the crane’s lifting mechanism, which had not yet been put into service.
The Ukrainian media outlet Krymsky Veter reported that the vessel involved was the heavy floating crane PK-700 Grigory Prosyankin, which was laid down in November 2018.
In 2023, reports said the hull was to be cut into sections and transported via inland waterways to Severodvinsk for completion at the Sevmash shipyard after the Sevastopol Marine Plant was unable to finish construction on its own.
Local outlet Forpost reported that the Grigory Prosyankin was originally scheduled for delivery by the end of 2020, but the project was frozen due to financing problems.
The crane had been intended for use in the construction of nuclear submarines and the repair of large surface vessels at Sevmash.
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