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

Twenty-one people are still missing after the boat carrying South Korean sightseers collided with a larger cruise ship on the Danube.

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 people are confirmed dead and seven were rescued, all of them South Koreans, Hungarian officials said.

Police launched a criminal investigation into the incident.

A rescue ship during a search operation on the River Danube in Budapest — A rescue ship on the River Danube (Balazs Mohai/MTI via AP)

Nineteen South Koreans and two Hungarian crew members – the captain and his assistant – 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.

Rescue staff take part in the search operation at Margaret Bridge on the River Danube in Budapest — Rescue staff take part in the search operation on the River Danube (Zoltan Mathe/MTI via AP)

The Hableany then appeared to steer slightly to its left, into the path of the cruise ship, which continued to sail on at the same speed.

The two collided and the sightseeing boat was then seen tipping on its side between the bridge’s two supports.

“As the Viking comes into contact with (the Hableany), it overturns it and in about seven seconds, as it turns on its side, it sinks,” Police Colonel Adrian Pal said.

The Dunaujvaros military ship, left, during the search operation on the River Danube in Budapest — The Dunaujvaros military ship during the search operation (Balazs Mohai/MTI via AP)

He said several people aboard the Hableany fell into the water after the collision.

The South Korean government said none of those on board was wearing a life jacket.

Police said 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.

A rescue boat searches for survivors on the River Danube in Budapest — A rescue boat searches for survivors (Laszlo Balogh/AP)

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

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

CCTV footage recorded on Wednesday night showed that the river was busy with boats of different sizes travelling in both directions.

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.

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.

Budapest’s Disaster Management Office chief Colonel Zsolt Gabor Palotai said the Hungarian army is setting up a pontoon near the capsized ship’s wreck and divers will go into the Danube from there.

Police have questioned the Ukrainian captain of the Viking, but no details have been released.

The Viking Sigyn hotel ship is moored following a collision with a sightseeing boat in Budapest, Hungary — The Viking Sigyn hotel ship is moored following the collision (Laszlo Balogh/AP)

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

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

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

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.

Soldiers take part in the search operation (Zoltan Mathe/MTI/AP)

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.

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.