Two people were killed and five others remain missing after the collision of small motor boat with a cruise ship on the Danube River near Budapest, Hungary, on Saturday May 18.
According to international news sources, the collision occurred late on Saturday night near the town of Verőce, Hungary. The small motorboat, carrying eight adults, collided with a cruise ship in the area. The Hungarian police launched a major search operation involving 95 personnel, 25 vessels, and drones to locate the missing individuals along the entire Hungarian stretch of the river, as Reuters reports.
A man with a head injury, found near the river, reported the accident to the police. Subsequently, the bodies of a man and a woman were recovered south of Verőce and near Budapest, respectively. The damaged motorboat was also retrieved near a bridge on Budapest’s northern outskirts.
Police identified the Swiss-based cruise ship Heidelberg as the vessel involved in the collision, noting visible damage to its hull. The ship was detained in Komarom for further investigation. Passengers on the Heidelberg, mostly unaware of the accident, disembarked safely.
Authorities have launched a criminal investigation to determine the cause and responsibility for the collision.
Unfortunately, this incident brings back memories from the 2019 incident, when a collision occurred on Wednesday, May 29, in River Danube between a cruise ship and a tour boat. The tourist boat had 35 people onboard, from whom 28 were found dead after research operations.
