Seven killed, 19 missing after tour boat sinks in Danube River

Seven people are confirmed to have died while another 19 have gone missing after a tour boat capsized and sank in the Danube River in Budapest in the late evening of Wednesday, May 29.

The vessel, which has been identified as Hableany (“Mermaid”), was carrying 35 passengers and crew when it capsized just after 21:00 local time.

Local news outlets state the tour boat had collided with another vessel in the waters near the Hungarian Parliament, which led to the former’s sinking.

Rescue teams have so far been able to pull nine survivors out of the water and bring them to shore amid heavy rainfall, strong winds, and the Danube’s fast current.

The South Korean Foreign Ministry in Budapest has confirmed that all 33 of the vessel’s passengers, including seven of the rescued survivors, were South Korean nationals on a six-country tour of Eastern Europe.