In light of the Danube fatal collision incident, Hungarian prosecutors said on Thursday, May 30, that the captain of a cruise liner involved in the fatal collision had captained a boat that was in an accident in the Netherlands in April.
Despite allegations, Viking Cruises replied, noting that the captain was not serving as captain of another boat that was in an accident in the Netherlands.
The collision between a cruise ship and a tour boat took place on Wednesday, May 29, in Danube River, Hungary. The incident resulted to 13 people confirmed dead, whereas 15 missing, up to now. In addition, seven people have been rescued.
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Hungarian and South Korean authorities and divers are closely cooperating, as the 33 out of the 35 onboard the small vessel were of South Korean nationality.
The 27-meter double-decker tourist ship ‘Hableány’ (Mermaid) was on a tourist cruise on Danube with a total of 35 people onboard, when it collided with the 135-meter luxury cruiser ‘Viking Sigyn’ and sank quickly.
After the collision, the Viking Sigyn’s captain, a 64-year-old Ukrainian man identified by police as C. Yuriy from Odessa, is being held as a suspect. His lawyers said he is devastated but did nothing wrong.
Concluding, the vessel is to be raised later this week, because flood waters has made it impossible for the rescuers to reach the submerged boat so far.
It is still unclear what caused the incident.
