One arrested over deadly Danube River tour boat sinking

Hungarian authorities have arrested the captain of a river cruise ship that collided with a tour boat, causing it to sink and killing at least seven people, on the night of Wednesday, May 29.

The captain, who has been identified as a 64-year-old Ukrainian national, faces a possible charge of reckless endangerment after the river cruise ship Viking Sigyn struck and severely damaged the smaller tour boat Hableany along the Danube River.

Video footage that has since circulated on social media shows Viking Sigyn‘s bow coming into contact with Hableany‘s rear quarter at around 21:00 local time. The impact pushed the smaller vessel to the side and eventually led to its capsizing within seconds.

Hableany was carrying 33 South Korean tourists and a crew of two at the time.

Seven of the passengers and the two crewmembers have so far been rescued in the face of inclement weather and the river’s strong current.

Seven of the survivors were rushed to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. Six have since been discharged.

The current in the Danube is reportedly so strong that local police officials claimed they recovered the bodies of some of the victims several kilometres away from where the tour boat sank.

At least one eyewitness claims Hableany‘s passengers were not wearing any life jackets.

Search and recovery efforts continue for the missing passengers. Among those participating in the search are South Korean Navy rescue specialists who were deployed to Budapest within hours of the incident.