The boat that capsized on Friday in the Ludzene region contained workers building pontoon border walkways, LTV reported on Sunday.
The state enterprise "Valsts nekustamie īpašumi" (VNĪ), responsible for building infrastructure on the eastern border, confirmed to the television that there were five workers in the boat, two of whom died.
According to available information, the tragic incident occurred on Lake Peitelis, directly at the border of Latvia and Russia.
The Chairman of the Board of VNĪ, Renars Grishkevich, confirmed that on Friday, information was received from the contractor — the state enterprise "Latvijas autoceļu uzturētājs" — about an accident that occurred at the project site near the Russian border.
"Currently, we only have preliminary information, and detailed comments on the circumstances of the incident can be provided by the services conducting the investigation. We express our deepest condolences to the families of the deceased," said Grishkevich.
The head of communications at VAS “Latvijas autoceļu uzturētājs” (LAU), Sanita Baginska, confirmed that "the victims of the incident were workers of a subcontractor of the state enterprise 'Latvijas autoceļu uzturētājs'. According to their information, at the time of the incident, the people were in a boat, heading back to shore from the work site. No work was being conducted on the lake."
"An investigation is currently underway. Whether the incident is related to compliance with occupational safety requirements will be determined by the State Police. At the same time, we have started an internal investigation and will provide all necessary information to the responsible authorities," added Baginska.
Both VNĪ and LAU indicated that the accident would not cause delays in the project implementation, and the construction of defense structures at the border would continue as planned. The construction of the barrier at the Latvian-Russian border is scheduled to be fully completed by the end of this year.
As reported, a call was received on Friday at 16:16 in the Ludzene region, where, according to the information received, a boat with five people capsized in the lake. Before the rescuers arrived, a witness began rescuing the people.
Rescuers at the scene, using a boat, brought all five individuals to shore; one was pronounced dead by the Emergency Medical Service medics.
Another person was found on Saturday. He died.
