VIDEO Boat 'rear-ended' by bigger sightseeing boat: travel agency
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This undated photo shows the Hableany sightseeing boat on the Danube River in Budapest, with the Hungarian Parliament building in the background. The boat with dozens of South Korean tourists onboard capsized and sank in the river Wednesday (local time) after being hit by a larger vessel. AP-Yonhap
By Jung Da-min
Lee Sang-moo, managing director of Seoul-based travel agency Very Good Tour, speaks to reporters about the accident on the Danube River, Budapest, Hungary, at the travel agency headquarters in Seoul. Yonhap
A Hungarian sightseeing boat was rear-ended by a bigger vessel departing from a dock, causing it to capsize and leave seven South Korean tourists dead and 19 missing, the tour agency here which arranged the trip said Thursday, citing a survivor and local police.
Video: https://bit.ly/2JPiVgb (T
he Hableany sightseeing boat carrying at around three dozen people capsizes after it collides with a bigger sightseeing boat run by cruise line operator Viking at around 9:05 p.m. in this video clip posted on YouTube account of the Hungarian private broadcaster ATV)
The ill-fated boat was returning from a night cruise on Budapest's Danube River for a South Korean tour group.
On Wednesday at around 9:05 p.m. (local time), the Hableany carrying 33 South Koreans and two Hungarian crew members capsized after was hit by another sightseeing boat run by cruise line operator Viking, the managing director of the Seoul-based travel agency Very Good Tour told reporters in Seoul, citing one of seven South Koreans rescued and local police.
“We understand the boat was hit hard by the Viking boat from behind before capsizing,” Lee Sang-moo said.
Initially, a boat malfunction was suspected as the reason for the sinking.
The Hableany has two decks and a capacity for 60 people, or 45 for sightseeing cruises. It was built in 1949 under the Soviet Union, according to local ship-tracking website Hajoregiszter.hu.
According to the tour agency, the 33 South Koreans comprised 30 of its customers ranging in age from a six-year-old girl to a 72-year-old man, two tour guides and one photographer.
The seven survivors have been identified as a 60-year-old man and six women ranging in age from 31 to 66, it said.