Budapest: The captain of a cruise ship that collided with a tour boat that sank on the Danube River in the heart of the Hungarian capital Budapest has been taken into custody.

The 64-year-old Ukrainian man, known only as C Yuriy, is suspected of endangering water transport leading to the deaths of at least seven people on board the tour boat.

Hungarian rescue officials said there was little chance of finding survivors after the boat with South Korean tourists on board sank, with 21 still missing.

The boat, the Mermaid, was cruising when it collided with a larger luxury passenger boat during a rainstorm on Wednesday evening, Budapest time, causing it to capsize and sink with 33 South Korean tourists and tour guides, and two Hungarian crew aboard. </s> Dozens of rescue workers are searching the Danube River in central Budapest for 21 people missing after a sightseeing boat with 33 South Koreans on board sank following a collision with a larger cruise ship.

Seven people were confirmed dead, officials said. None of the tourists were wearing life jackets.

Seven other people have been rescued, said Pal Gyorfi, spokesman for the National Ambulance Service. They are in a stable condition in hospital after the accident during an downpour on Wednesday evening.

Two Hungarian crew members are also missing.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in instructed officials to employ “all available resources” to support the rescue effort in Hungary.

His spokeswoman Ko Min-jung said Mr Moon also ordered the launch of a government taskforce led by foreign minister Kang Kyung-wha and for officials to maintain close communication with family members of the South Korean passengers.

A team of South Korean officials left for Hungary on Thursday to assist with the rescue operation and support passengers and their families. Ms Kang was also travelling to Hungary.

The 33 South Koreans included 30 tourists on a package tour of Europe, two guides and one photographer, according to the South Korea-based Very Good Tour agency, which organised the trip.

Agency officials said the tourists left South Korea on May 25 and were supposed to return on June 1.

Most of them were travelling with families, including a six-year-old girl, who did not appear on a list of survivors provided by the tour agency.

The agency said the boat was on its way back after an hour-long night tour when it collided with a larger cruise ship.

Senior agency official Lee Sang-moo disclosed the identities of the seven rescued South Koreans — six women and one man aged between 31 and 66.

The sunken boat was located early on Thursday near the Margit Bridge, not far from the neo-Gothic parliament building on the riverbank.

Employees from the South Korean embassy in Budapest were assisting Hungarian officials in identifying those rescued and the deceased.

Officials said searchers were checking the Danube for miles downriver from Budapest. The river was fast-flowing and rising as heavy rain continued in the city. Water temperatures were about 10C to 12C.

The news website Index.hu said one of those rescued was found near the Petofi Bridge, about two miles south of parliament.

Dozens of rescue personnel, including from the military and divers, were involved in the search.

The boat that sank was identified as the Hableany (Mermaid), which is described on the sightseeing company’s website as “one of the smallest members of the fleet”. It has two decks and capacity for 60 people, or 45 for sightseeing cruises.

Hajoregiszter.hu, a local ship-tracking website, lists the Hableany as having been built in 1949 in what was then the Soviet Union.

Mihaly Toth, a spokesman for the Panorama Deck boating company, said the Hableany was on a “routine city sightseeing trip” when the accident happened. He told state television he had no information about any technical problems with the boat, which he said was serviced regularly. </s> A boat capsized and sank in the Danube River in Budapest with 34 people on board, Hungarian media has reported.

A boat capsized and sank in the Danube River in Budapest with 34 people on board, Hungarian media has reported.

Boat sinks in Danube in Hungary with 34 people on board

Rescuers were at the scene near Hungary’s parliament, including a fire boat.

Some people have been rescued and a search is under way for others.

The onwer of the “Hableany” (Mermaid) told news website Index.hu that the vessel had sunk.

Other boats docked on the river banks, including large tourist boats, were shining their lights onto the river, in search of survivors.

The search and rescue efforts were being carried out under heavy rainfall.

Index.hu reported that one person was rescued near the Petofi Bridge, which is about two miles south of parliament.

Hableany is described on the company’s website as “one of the smallest members of the fleet … an excellent venue for cruises and smaller family events”.

It has two decks and capacity for 60 people, or 45 for sightseeing cruises. </s> Rescue workers are scouring the Danube River in Budapest for 21 people missing after a sightseeing boat carrying South Korean tourists sank in a matter of seconds after colliding with a larger cruise ship during an evening downpour.

Rescue workers are scouring the Danube River in Budapest for 21 people missing after a sightseeing boat carrying South Korean tourists sank in a matter of seconds after colliding with a larger cruise ship during an evening downpour.

Seven dead after tourist boat sinks ‘in seven seconds’ in Budapest

Seven people are confirmed dead and seven were rescued, Hungarian officials said.

The South Korea-based Very Good Tour agency, which organised the trip, said the boat had been on its way back after an hour-long night tour on Wednesday evening when the accident happened.

Nineteen South Koreans and two Hungarian crew members are missing.

The tour party had consisted of 30 tourists, two guides and a photographer on a package tour of Europe.

Pal Gyorfi, spokesman for the National Ambulance Service, said those rescued were in hospital in a stable condition.

The sunken boat was located early on Thursday near the Margit Bridge, not far from the neo-Gothic parliament building on the riverbank.

Police Colonel Adrian Pal said the boat turned on its side and sank in about seven seconds.

He said that rescue operations were hampered by the rain and the fast flow of the rising Danube.

The search for the 21 missing extended far downstream, even into Serbia, where the Danube goes after leaving Hungary.

The river, which is 450 metres wide at the point of the accident, was fast-flowing and rising as heavy rain continued in the city.

Water temperatures were about 10C to 12C (50F-53F).

Earlier, news website Index.hu said one of those rescued was found near the Petofi Bridge, which is about three kilometres (two miles) south of parliament.

Dozens of rescue personnel, including from the military and divers, were involved in the search.

Employees from the South Korean embassy in Budapest were assisting Hungarian officials in identifying those rescued and the deceased.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in instructed officials to employ “all available resources” to support the rescue efforts in Hungary.

Mr Moon’s spokeswoman Ko Min-jung said in Seoul that Mr Moon also ordered the launch of a government task force led by foreign minister Kang Kyung-wha and for officials to maintain close communication with the family members of the South Korean passengers.

A team of South Korean officials left for Hungary on Thursday to assist with the rescue operations and support passengers and their families. Ms Kang was also to travel to Hungary.

The ministry said the Seoul government will closely co-operate with Hungarian officials so that the rescue efforts can proceed swiftly and effectively.

It said the tourists were not wearing life jackets.

The Very Good Tour agency said the tourists left South Korea on May 25 and were supposed to return on June 1.

Most of them were family groups and they included a six-year-old girl.

Senior agency official Lee Sang-moo disclosed the identities of the seven rescued South Koreans – six women and one man, aged between 31 and 66.

The company is arranging for family members of the tourists to travel to Hungary as soon as possible.

The boat that sank was identified as the Hableany (Mermaid), which is described on the sightseeing company’s website as “one of the smallest members of the fleet”.

It has two decks and a capacity for 60 people, or 45 for sightseeing cruises.

Mihaly Toth, a spokesman for the Panorama Deck boating company, said the Hableany was on a “routine city sightseeing trip” when the accident happened.

He told state television that he had no information about any technical problems with the boat, which he said was serviced regularly.

Hajoregiszter.hu, a local ship-tracking website, lists the Hableany as having been built in 1949 in what was then the Soviet Union.

Cruise line operator Viking said one of its ships was involved in the collision.

Viking said in a statement that its ship Sigyn was near a Hungarian tourist boat “when it was involved in an incident” on the river at 9pm local time.

It said no-one aboard the Viking ship was injured and that it is co-operating with the authorities.

The company, which has offices in Switzerland and California, provided no further details.

The Margit Bridge connects the two halves of the city, Buda and Pest, with a large recreational island in the middle of the Danube.

It is the bridge just north of the famous Chain Bridge, a suspension bridge originally built in the 19th century that, like the parliament, is a major tourist draw in the heart of the city.

The river flows south, meaning that survivors were likely to be swept through the well-populated, historic part of the city.

Index.hu reported that other riverboats shone spotlights into the water to aid with the search, and that a film crew operating on the Liberty Bridge farther down the river directed its lighting equipment towards the Danube to assist.

In recent years, Budapest has emerged as a popular destination for film, television and other commercial video production.

Budapest has enjoyed a boom in overseas tourism in recent years.

Long-haul flights from as far away as Dubai and Beijing increasingly fly visitors from Asia and the Middle East to the Hungarian capital, a relatively affordable but history-rich European destination.

Budapest’s airport said it handled a record number of travellers in 2018, with passenger numbers surging more than 13% to 14.9 million. </s> BUDAPEST (Reuters) - Hungarian police late on Thursday said it had taken into custody the captain of a cruise ship involved in an accident on the Danube River in central Budapest that killed at least seven South Korean tourists on Wednesday.

The captain is a 64-year-old Ukrainian citizen identified as C. Yury, from Odessa, whose arrest was initiated for reckless misconduct in waterborne traffic leading to mass casualties, police said on its website. </s> BUDAPEST (Reuters) - Hungarian salvage crews prepared on Monday to raise the wreck of a pleasure boat that capsized on the Danube river in Budapest, killing 26 South Korean tourists and two local crew.

The Mermaid sank after a large Swiss-owned cruise liner struck it from behind on May 29 as both vessels passed under a 19th century bridge in the Hungarian capital during heavy rain.

It was the worst disaster in half a century on Europe’s longest river, which has become an increasingly popular route for big hotel cruisers.

The bodies of all but eight of the victims have been recovered.

Divers inserted four straps under the sunken wreck to allow a floating crane to lift it, possibly starting on Tuesday morning, according to South Korean Embassy defense attache Song Shun-Keun.

He expressed concern that the ship might break up, or bodies could be dislodged.

“Therefore, Hungarian experts spend a lot of time figuring out how to lift the ship in a good balanced position,” he told reporters.

Hungarian special forces spokesman Nandor Jasenszky said divers had fixed the straps and made all the necessary checks.

“The boat can be lifted soon,” he said, adding that the first phase, when the wreck is raised off the riverbed, will be critical.

Once the captain’s deck appears, they will stop and search for the body of the captain before continuing to lift the boat very slowly.

“It cannot be excluded that something happens to the hull (during the process) but we are hoping it won’t,” Jasenszky added.

The wreck will be placed on a barge before the police take over the investigation.

The Viking Sigyn cruise liner’s captain, a 64-year-old Ukrainian man identified by police as C. Yuriy, is being held as a suspect. His lawyers said he was upset but did nothing wrong.

Seven South Koreans were saved and 20 of the victims’ bodies have been recovered. On a nearby embankment, people have placed flowers, candles and teddy bears.

“I sincerely hope the missing bodies can be retrieved and brought back to their families to rest,” said South Korean tourist Lee Seung Hwan who was standing by the river. </s> BUDAPEST (Reuters) - Salvage crews started an operation Tuesday to raise the wreck of a Hungarian boat that capsized on the Danube river in Budapest, killing 26 South Korean tourists and two Hungarian crew, Reuters TV reported from the scene.

The Mermaid sank after a large Swiss-owned cruise liner struck it from behind on May 29 as both vessels passed under a 19th century bridge in the Hungarian capital during heavy rain.

It was the worst disaster in half a century on Europe’s longest river. The bodies of all but eight of the victims have been recovered. </s> The body of the Hungarian captain of the tourist boat Hableány (Mermaid) has been removed from the wreck after the vessel sank on May 29 when she with the cruise ship Viking Sigyn.

The Hableány was brought to the surface on Tuesday, and four victims were recovered, including the captain and the only child that was on the vessel. There were seven survivors in the incident and 24 now confirmed dead, most South Koreans. Four remain missing.

The Hableány, a 27-meter (89-foot) double-decker tourist ship, sank quickly after colliding with the 135-meter (443-foot) Viking Sigyn on the Danube River in Budapest last Wednesday night. The wreck was found on the bed of the river close to one of the pillars of Margaret Bridge. Some of the bodies that were recovered last week were pulled out of the water several miles south of the bridge where the incident occurred, according to a map release by the police.

Questions have been raised about the high amount of traffic on the Danube at the time and the possible tightening of water traffic regulations.

The 64-year-old captain of the Viking Sigyn, who is a Ukrainian citizen, was arrested last Thursday following questioning. The court has ordered that he be detained for a period of 30 days pending prosecution. </s> Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption The tour boat sank seconds after a collision with another vessel

The captain of a vessel that collided with a small tour boat on the Danube in Budapest, resulting in at least seven deaths, has been arrested, police say.

The 64-year-old Ukrainian national was held as a suspect over reckless misconduct in waterborne traffic leading to mass casualties.

The boat carrying South Korean tourists sank seven seconds after the collision during a rainstorm on Wednesday.

Hopes have faded that any of the 21 people missing will be found alive.

A criminal investigation has been launched into the collision, a rare incident on the Danube where navigation is busy but generally safe.

Seven people rescued alive were suffering from hypothermia but stable, an ambulance spokesman said.

South Korea's foreign minister, Kang Kyung-wha, is due to arrive in Budapest on Friday for a joint press conference with her Hungarian counterpart Péter Szijjártó.

Witness saw people 'screaming in the water'

CCTV footage showed the boat that sank - Hableany, or Mermaid - being hit from behind by a larger tour boat - Viking Sigyn - near the Margit (Margaret) Bridge in central Budapest after 21:00 local time (19:00 GMT).

"The whole thing happened very quickly" said Clay Findley, a US tourist who was on the Viking Sigyn.

"I thought at first we were going to miss it, but the front of the Viking hit the back of that little boat... and then the hull popped up on the opposite side of the ship, just a few seconds later, and then it was down."

Image copyright IDOKEP.HU/via REUTERS Image caption This still from CCTV footage shows the two vessels (encircled) just minutes before the collision

Another passenger, 66-year-old Ginger Brinton from the US, told the AFP news agency that he was on the boat's balcony when he "saw people in the water, screaming for help".

He added: "We never felt any bump. We didn't realise. We just saw people in the water. It was just terrible."

No-one on the Swiss-registered Viking Sigyn was injured.

Hungarian police said the investigation yielded evidence that raised questions of personal responsibility so it questioned the captain - identified as Yuriy C., from Odessa - as a suspect and later decided to take him into custody.

Emergency crews found the wreckage of the Hableany, a double-decker river cruise boat built in 1949 in the former Soviet Union, on the riverbed near the Margaret Bridge and were preparing to lift it.

What is known about the rescue operation?

Thirty South Korean tourists and three tour guides, as well as two Hungarian crew, were on board the Hableany.

Most of the tourists were aged between 40 and 50 but the group also included a six-year-old child and a man in his 70s, South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported.

Image copyright EPA Image caption Hope was fading that any of the missing would be found alive

Image copyright Reuters Image caption Candles were lit on the Danube bank in Budapest

The seven rescued alive included a 31-year-old passenger identified only by her surname Jung, who told Yonhap: "The current was so fast and people were floating away."

Another survivor, a 32-year-old woman named as Yoon, said: "The boat flipped instantly and capsized."

Image copyright Reuters Image caption The Hableany boat - seen in this archive photo - has a capacity of 45 people for sightseeing trips

The rescue operation continued with boats, divers, spotlights, and radar scanning along the river, where the temperature of the water was between 10C and 12C (50F-54F).

But teams warned that, as more time passed, the strong currents caused by heavy rainfall would carry people further downstream, lessening the chances of finding survivors.

The seven confirmed victims were not wearing life jackets and three of them were found several kilometres from the site of the collision, police said.

'An accident waiting to happen'

By Nick Thorpe, BBC News, Budapest

There has been a dramatic increase in river traffic in recent years as tourism increases in Budapest.

Andras Kurbely, a crew member of another large cruise ship with 27 years of experience on the Danube, told the BBC that this was an accident he and others have long worried about.

"It's just not healthy to have so many large ships, which are much more powerful and harder to manoeuvre, carving a route between so many smaller boats."

In his view, the practice of the river cruisers, which sail up and down the river between the five main bridges as an after-dinner excursion for their passengers, should be stopped.

What has the reaction been?

Relatives of the passengers were travelling from South Korea to Hungary.

Meanwhile, flowers were laid outside the country's embassy in Budapest and candles were lit on the Danube bank.

Earlier, South Korean President Moon Jae-in said his government planned "to co-operate with the Hungarian government to thoroughly investigate the cause of the accident".

For South Koreans, the sinking is a painful reminder of the Sewol disaster in 2014, the BBC's Laura Bicker in Seoul reports.

The ferry of that name sank off South Korea's Jindo island, killing 304 people, almost all of them schoolchildren on a trip. The ship's captain was later convicted of murder.
The Hableány, a sightseeing river cruise ship on the Danube in Budapest, capsizes and sinks with 34 South Korean tourists on board. At least seven people are killed and 19 remain missing.