A ship captain involved in the worst accident in more than half a century on the Danube River has gone on trial in Hungary over the crash in Budapest that killed 25 South Korean tourists and two Hungarian crew last year.
Yuri Chaplinsky's cruise liner, the Viking Sigyn, hit a smaller tourist boat, the Mermaid, under a bridge in the capital during torrential rain on 29 May.
All 27 victims were from the Mermaid, which sank within seconds of the crash.
Hungarian prosecutors on Wednesday charged Chaplinsky, a Ukrainian from Odessa, with one count of gross negligence leading to an accident with mass casualties.
They also charged him with failing to provide assistance to those aboard the Mermaid, saying he did not immediately order his crew to assist them as the boat sank.
Flowers are left in memory of the victims on the Margaret Bridge, the site of the boat accident in Budapest. Source: AAP
Chaplinsky, 64, had a window of several minutes to slow or steer his ship to avoid the collision, prosecutor Miklos Novaki said.
Despite the downpour, there was visibility of over a kilometre, he added.
"For at least five minutes ... the defendant failed to focus on steering the ship, including locating other possible vessels under the bridge," Mr Novaki told the court.
"He did not sense the Mermaid's presence, did not radio or send out emergency sound signals."
The prosecutors asked the Budapest court to impose a nine-year prison sentence on the captain and strip him of his boating licence for an additional nine years if he pleaded guilty to the charges and forewent a trial.
Flowers and candles are left in memory of the victims of a boat collision in Hungary. Source: AAP
Chaplinsky, who has denied wrongdoing, rejected the prosecution's offer on Wednesday and said he wanted a trial.
He did not comment further.
