Captain detained in Hungary boat sinking after 7 Koreans killed
A photograph taken of video footage that shows the two ships seconds before the collision on the River Danube during press briefing on the boat accident in the police headquarters in Budapest, Hungary, Thursday, May 30, 2019. On the previous evening a hotelship and a smaller cruise ship collided, and the latter sank with thirty-three South Korean passengers and two Hungarian staff on board. (Noemi Bruzak/MTI via AP)
The captain of a vessel that collided with another boat on a river in Hungary, resulting in the death of at least seven South Korean tourists, has been detained, foreign news reports said Friday.
According to the AFP, Hungarian police said they had detained the Ukrainian captain of the cruise ship on suspicion of "endangering waterborne traffic resulting in multiple deaths."
"After being questioned, 64-year-old Yuriy C., a resident of Odessa, was detained and a request for his arrest has been made," AFP cited a police statement as saying.
The suspect's vessel, the Viking River Cruise, collided with the cruise boat Hableany, which means mermaid in Hungarian, on the Danube River late Wednesday (local time). The Hableany reportedly capsized and sank seven seconds later.
On board were 33 Koreans and two Hungarian crew members. Seven Koreans have been confirmed dead, 19 others remain missing, while seven were rescued. The two Hungarians have also yet to be accounted for. (Yonhap)