Seven South Korean tourists have died after a boat sank in Hungary’s Danube river
The BBC reports that seven South Korean tourists died when a boat sank in the Danube in Budapest, Hungary.
30 South Korean tourists, 3 tour guides and two Hungarian crew members were on board the boat which collided with another vessel before sinking.
According to the NY Times, the boat was part of a tour operated by Seoul-based company Very Good Tour. The company said its customers on board at the time included a 6-year-old girl and a 72-year-old man.
The boat sank near Budapest’s parliament building at 9pm local time on Wednesday.
CNN reports that none of the seven who were killed were wearing life jackets at the time.
A search operation is currently underway but only seven people have been rescued so far. Another 21 are still missing.
Rescue teams believe there is little hope of finding more survivors due to the strong currents on the Danube from heavy rainfall.
Very Good Tour’s chief operating officer, Lee Sang-moo, said the tour was on its fourth day of a nine-day tour. The group was set to visit Croatia, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Austria and Germany.
“I deeply apologize to the parties affected by the accident, families of victims and the people who are suffering after hearing the news this morning,” Lee said. “I understand that the boat took every precaution.”
Panorama Deck, the boating company that operated the ship said it did not know why the boat sank.
“It was just an average day and this was a regular trip. We carry out thousands of tourist boat trips every day, there were no signs that something like this could happen,” company spokesman Mihaly Toth said.
A criminal investigation has since been launched.
