2 dead and 5 missing after a boat collision on the Danube River in Hungary

2 dead and 5 missing after a boat collision on the Danube River in Hungary

Police say two people have died and five are missing following a boat collision on the Danube River in Hungary

ByThe Associated Press

May 19, 2024, 5:42 AM

BUDAPEST, Hungary -- Police say two people have died and five are missing following a boat collision on the Danube River in Hungary.

Hungarian police received a report late Saturday night that a man had been found bleeding from his head on the shore of the Danube near the town of Veroce, around 30 miles (50 kilometers) north of the capital, Budapest. Police determined that the man had been involved in a boating accident, and the bodies of a man and a woman were later discovered nearby.

Hours after police began their search, they discovered a damaged boat in the water which they towed to shore. They are still searching for five other people, all adults, who they believe were on the boat.

Police said they determined that a hotel boat had been in the area at the time of the accident. They stopped a hotel boat near the town of Komarom, more than 50 miles (80 kilometers) further upriver, which had a damaged hull.

The deadly accident comes five years after at least 27 people were killed in Budapest when a river cruise boat collided with a smaller tourist vessel, sinking it in seconds.

The tourist boat Hableany, carrying 35 people who were mostly South Korean tourists, was overtaken from behind by the much larger cruise boat, Viking Sigyn, beneath Budapest's Margit Bridge, in May 2019.

The Ukrainian captain of the Viking Sigyn was last year found guilty of negligence leading to a fatal mass catastrophe and sentenced to five years and six months in prison. He has appealed the decision.

Police on Sunday said they have initiated criminal proceedings against an unknown perpetrator on suspicion of endangering water transport and causing the death of several people.