Seven killed in Budapest boat accident, the missing face slim chances

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Seven people were killed and 21 are still missing after a boat carrying South Korean tourists capsized on the flooding Danube River in the Hungarian capital Budapest on Wednesday, police and ambulance said.

According to the Foreign Ministry of South Korea, 33 South Korean tourists and two Hungarian crew were on board the ship. Seven of them were rescued; seven are confirmed dead; and the 21 others remain missing.

The ministry said it had established an emergency task force to obtain more information from Hungary and contact the victims' families.

Hungarian police said they have launched a criminal investigation into the accident.

Hundreds of rescue workers try to offer help after a boat capsizes in Danube River at downtown Budapest, Hungary, May 29, 2019. /VCG Photo

For the missing, "Chances are minimal," says Hungarian ambulance official, "I am not inclined to say there is no hope, so I would rather say there is a minimal chance (to find more survivors)."

The boat reportedly collided with a large passenger ship near the Hungarian parliament building, then turned over on the river, which has been flooding, with very strong currents, while a rainstorm enveloped Budapest.

Mihaly Toth, a spokesman of the boat's owner, told Hungarian state news agency MTI that the boat, the Mermaid, had sunk.

A massive rescue effort was underway with boats, divers, spotlights and radar scanning along the river several kilometers downstream.

Dozens of emergency vehicles were visible on a stretch several kilometers downstream from the site of the accident, which happened shortly after 9 p.m. local time.

A victim's body is seen covered by a black plastic on Danube River after a pleasure boat capsizes close to the National Theatre of Budapest, Hungary, May 29, 2019. /VCG Photo

The Danube's flooding and currents made rescue efforts extremely difficult, a rescue diver told the state broadcaster, adding that temperature of the waters of the Danube was only about 10-12 degrees Celsius.

(With input from Reuters)