A cruise ship carrying nearly 200 passengers ran aground while transiting the Danube River in Romania in the early morning (local time) of Tuesday, July 28.
Cruise operator Viking told USA Today that its 2019-built ship Viking Ullur accidentally struck a sandbank, "during a period of exceptionally low water levels."
The ship had departed Drobeta-Turnu Severin in Romania at around 21:15 on Monday, July 27, and was en route to the Bulgarian city of Vidin when the grounding occurred on the Romanian side of the Danube at 02:20 on Tuesday.
The Bulgarian Border Police said that the mishap occurred due to reduced nighttime visibility in addition to the Danube's low water level.
The border police assisted in the evacuation of all 186 of the ship's passengers. Because the police boat used in the evacuation had only limited capacity, the passengers needed to be offloaded and transported to shore in groups.
A spokesperson for Viking has assured that none of Viking Ullur's passengers or crew were injured. However, the ship has remained stranded where she ran aground.
The accident is the second one involving a cruise ship to occur on the Danube in less than a week.
On July 24, the Scylla-operated Anna Katharina struck a lock wall in Vienna, Austria, resulting in her bow becoming severely damaged and 14 passengers suffering minor injuries.