At least 7 killed on tour of Budapest as boat capsizes

At least seven people were killed and more than a dozen are missing after a pleasure 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 were on board the ship. Seven of them were rescued; seven are confirmed dead; and the 19 others, remain missing.

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

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

The boat reportedly collided with another tourist's vessel 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 (miles) 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 National Ambulance Service was conducting searches on a long stretch downstream from Budapest and on alert on the entire Danube stretch south of Budapest in Hungary, where all boat traffic has been halted.

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.

As hours have passed since the accident, it seems less likely that new survivors will be found in the central Budapest area, as the strong currents have carried people far downstream, emergency rescue chiefs told MTI.

(CGTN)