BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) – Police report that two individuals have died, and five are missing after a boat collision on the Danube River in Hungary.
Hungarian police received information late Saturday night that a man had been discovered with a head injury on the shore of the Danube near Veroce, approximately 30 miles (50 kilometers) north of Budapest. The bodies of a man and a woman were subsequently found nearby.
Hours into their search, police located a damaged boat in the water, which they towed ashore. The search continues for five adults – three men and two women – who they suspect were on the boat.
Authorities determined that a river cruise boat was in the vicinity at the time of the accident. They intercepted a cruise boat with a damaged hull near Komarom, over 50 miles (80 kilometers) further upriver.
According to Hungarian public television station M1, the cruise boat, named Heidelberg, is a 109-meter (357-foot) Swiss vessel that can accommodate 110 people. M1 reported that no passengers on that boat were injured.
The Danube at Veroce spans roughly 1,500 feet (460 meters) in width and is located in an area known as the Danube Bend, where the river takes a sweeping, nearly 90-degree turn to the south. This region is a popular spot for recreational activities and boating, and it lies on a common route for cruise boats traveling between Budapest and Vienna, Austria, some 140 miles (230 kilometers) upriver.
Damage is seen on the front of the cruise ship involved in a Danube River accident earlier in Budapest Hungary, Sunday, May 19, 2024. Police say two people have died and five are missing following a boat collision on the Danube River in Hungary. (AP Photo/Bela Szandelszky)
This tragic accident occurs five years after a similar incident in Budapest, where at least 27 people lost their lives when a river cruise boat collided with a smaller tourist vessel, causing it to sink almost instantly.
The Hableany tourist boat, which was carrying 35 individuals, primarily South Korean tourists, was overtaken from behind by the larger cruise boat Viking Sigyn beneath Budapest’s Margit Bridge in May 2019.
The Ukrainian captain of the Viking Sigyn was found guilty of negligence causing a fatal mass catastrophe and was sentenced to five years and six months in prison last year. He has since appealed the decision.
On Sunday, police announced the initiation of criminal proceedings against an unknown perpetrator on suspicion of endangering water transport and causing multiple deaths.
A spokesperson for the Directorate General for Disaster Management informed Hungarian news agency MTI that nearly 90 people from various regional disaster management agencies are conducting the search for the missing, utilizing land, water, and aerial resources.
Search operations involve twelve boats, three drones, and the efforts of two rescue divers, according to Imre Doka.
