Seven South Korean tourists have died and at least 19 more are missing after a boat capsized on the Danube river in Hungary’s capital, Budapest.
Thirty tourists and three tour guides, as well two Hungarian crew members, were on the boat when it was hit by another vessel while moored.
The incident occurred at about 22:00 local time (20:00 GMT) on Wednesday.
Seven people have been rescued, and a massive search operation is continuing on a river swollen by heavy rainfall.
The rain had led to strong currents on the Danube, a popular draw for tourists.
What is known about the incident?
The boat that sank near the parliament building in central Budapest was identified as the Hableany, or Mermaid.
The boat has two decks and a capacity of 45 people for sightseeing trips.
So far few details have emerged about the second vessel involved in the collision.
Officials are investigating what caused the rare incident on the Danube.
Imre Horvath, the head of the Hungarian National Shipping Association, said he believed it was a human error, MTI news agency reported.
Why do boat incidents especially resonate with South Koreans?
This is because of a South Korean ferry disaster in 2014, in which 304 people died, almost all school children on a trip.
The Sewol ferry sank off the south-western island of Jindo.
Sewol disaster ferry raised in South Korea after three years
The sinking was blamed on a combination of illegal redesigns, cargo overloading, the inexperience of the crew member steering the vessel, and lax government regulations. The ship’s captain was later convicted of murder.
BBC
