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Associated Press

The captain of a river cruise ship that collided with a smaller sightseeing vessel was charged on Saturday over the accident in Budapest that killed seven South Korean tourists and left 21 missing.
The Mermaid carrying mainly South Korean tourists overturned and sank late Wednesday, seconds after colliding with the Viking Sigyn cruise on a busy stretch of the Danube in the heart of Budapest.
Strong currents have hampered the search for those missing – 19 South Koreans and two Hungarians – preventing divers from reaching the submerged boat.
The Sigyn’s Ukrainian captain was charged on Saturday, a Budapest court official told AFP, but gave no further details.
Captain of ‘floating hotel’ in Hungarian boat crash arrested
The 64-year-old was detained on Thursday for questioning for “endangering waterborne traffic resulting in multiple deaths”, police said at the time.
The captain’s lawyer, Balazs Toth, said the court had granted bail, but prosecutors were appealing it so his client remained detained.




“My client has not changed his statement made as a witness. He insists that he has not made any error,” his other lawyer, Gabor Elo, told reporters after the hearing.
Near the accident site, a floating crane has been erected, as well as a small pier for use by divers.
But with the Danube swollen after weeks of rain, the strong current has complicated plans to lift the wreck, and the prospects of finding any more survivors are seen as very slim.
Survivors of boat collision describe desperation on board
Serbia, Romania and Croatia – countries along the Danube, south of Hungary – have also been asked to help in the search after South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha insisted in Budapest on Friday that her country would not give up hope of finding survivors.
One of the bodies was found around 11 kilometres (seven miles) downstream of the accident site.
South Korean relatives of those on the Mermaid arrived in Budapest on Friday, and officials took them to the banks of the Danube to where the accident happened.

People have been laying flowers along the river bank and on a bridge above the spot where the collision took place, as well as at the South Korean embassy.
On Saturday, black flags were flying along the bridge.
Only seven people are known to have survived so far. Those missing include a six-year-old girl, as well as the Mermaid’s Hungarian captain and a crew member.
The collision happened on a popular part of the river, from where sightseers can view the city and parliament, which is lit up at night.


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Hungary

Budapest boat crash: cruise ship captain charged over Danube tourists deaths

The collision happened on a popular part of the Danube river, from where sightseers can view the city. Photo: AP

Women pray to mourn the victims of a ship accident, which killed several people on the Danube river, in Budapest, Hungary, May 31, 2019. REUTERS/Bernadett Szabo TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY

‘No life jackets’: 7 South Korean tourists dead, 21 missing in Hungary pleasure boat tragedy

epa07611442 A rescue boat searches for victims after a tourist boat crashed with another ship, overturned and sank in the River Danube, in Budapest, Hungary, 29 May 2019, killing at least three of the 34 people onboard, mostly tourists from Eastern Asia. EPA-EFE/Zsolt Szigetvary HUNGARY OUT

An official from South Korea's Embassy in Budapest stands in front of the Viking Cruises Sigyn hotel-boat on the banks of the Danube River in downtown Budapest on May 30, 2019. - Seven South Korean tourists were killed and 19 missing after a pleasure boat capsized on the Danube in the Hungarian capital, the foreign ministry said on May 30, 2019. A total of 33 South Koreans were onboard and seven have been rescued, with a rescue operation underway for the missing 19, it said, adding the boat capsized after a collision on May 29 with a cruise ship, without elaborating further. (Photo by GERGELY BESENYEI / AFP)

The Very Good Tour agency senior official Lee Sang-moo, left, bows to make an apology during a press conference at its headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, May 30, 2019. A sightseeing boat carrying 33 South Korean passengers and two crew members collided with another vessel and sank in the Danube River in downtown Budapest. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

epa07611443 Rescuers and police officers inspect the dark water from a bridge after a tourist boat crashed with another ship, overturned and sank in River Danube, in Budapest, Hungary, 29 May 2019, killing at least three of the 34 people onboard, mostly tourists from Eastern Asia. EPA-EFE/Zsolt Szigetvary HUNGARY OUT

The boat that sank was identified as the ‘Hableany’ (Mermaid), which is described on the sightseeing company’s website as ‘one of the smallest members of the fleet’. File photo: EPA

‘There was no help coming’: South Korean survivors of boat collision in Hungary describe desperation on board

A sonar is being used at Margaret Bridge during the search operation on the River Danube on May 30. Photo: EPA-EFE

South Korean rescue team members prepare to leave for Budapest at Incheon airport, west of Seoul, on May 30, 2019. - Seven South Korean tourists died and 21 others were missing after a sightseeing boat capsized and sank on the Danube in Budapest, Hungarian and South Korean officials said on May 30. (Photo by - / YONHAP / AFP) / - South Korea OUT / REPUBLIC OF KOREA OUT NO ARCHIVES RESTRICTED TO SUBSCRIPTION USE

epa07612107 A woman throws a flower from the Margaret Bridge during the search operation on the River Danube in Budapest, Hungary, 30 May 2019, following a collision of a hotel ship and a smaller cruise ship on the previous evening. The cruise ship sank with thirty-three South Korean passengers and two Hungarian staff on board. At least seven people died and nineteen are missing. The shipwreck has been found at Margaret Bridge. EPA-EFE/BALAZS MOHAI HUNGARY OUT

Family members of South Korean tourists arrive to board a plane to leave for Budapest at Incheon International Airport in Incheon, South Korea, Thursday, May 30, 2019. A massive search was underway on the Danube River in downtown Budapest for 21 people missing after a sightseeing boat with 33 South Korean tourists sank after colliding with another vessel during an evening downpour. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

Rescuers on a boat are seen on the Danube river near the zone where the "Mermaid" sightseeing boat sank overnight after colliding with a larger vessel in pouring rain on May 30, 2019 in Budapest. - Hungarian police launched a criminal investigation into one of the country's worst boat accidents that left at least seven South Korean tourists dead and 21 others missing. (Photo by ATTILA KISBENEDEK / AFP)

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A strong current has complicated plans to lift the wreck, and the prospects of finding any more survivors are very slim
The captain’s lawyer said the court had granted bail, but prosecutors were appealing it so his client remained detained


A strong current has complicated plans to lift the wreck, and the prospects of finding any more survivors are very slim.


South Korea