Croatian police arrest first officer of catamaran following collision with Czech sailing vessel
Following a collision between a catamaran and a sailing vessel near Split, four Czech nationals died. Croatian authorities arrested a 33-year-old officer.
Croatian police arrest first officer of catamaran following collision with Czech sailing vessel
Croatian security forces on Wednesday placed a 33-year-old crew member of a catamaran that collided with a sailing vessel off the coast near Split on Sunday into custody. Four Czech nationals died in the accident, and four more people were admitted to hospital. The information was reported by Aktuálně.cz.
Public television HRT confirmed that the arrested man is the first officer of the vessel. He was on the command bridge at the time of the accident together with the helmsman. Croatian Minister of the Interior Davor Božinović stated that the suspect has committed a criminal offence against traffic safety.
According to available information, not all safety measures necessary to prevent a collision were observed during navigation. Rules of passage through the Split Channel were probably not properly observed. The captain of the catamaran Krilo Eclipse was probably not controlling the vessel at the time of the accident, according to the minister.
The sailing vessel, which carried an eight-member Czech crew, was flying under a French flag. Minister Božinović added that there is no information available that the captain of the sailing vessel left Croatian waters.
The investigation is continuing.
Source: Aktuálně.cz