At least seven people have been killed and more than a dozen are missing after a pleasure boat carrying South Korean tourists capsized on the flooding Danube in the Hungarian capital of Budapest.
The boat was reportedly hit by another tourist vessel near the Hungarian parliament building on Wednesday night, then turned over on the river, which has been swollen by heavy rains
Mihaly Toth, a spokesman of the boat's owner told state television that the vessel - the Mermaid - had sunk.
Rescuers and police officers inspect the River Danube on Wednesday. Source: MTI
A massive rescue effort was underway with boats, divers, spotlights, and radar scanning along the river several kilometres downstream.
Police said the boat had been carrying 33 South Korean tourists plus a crew of two.
An Ambulance spokesman told state television that 14 people had been pulled out of the water so far.
Seven of them have died, with the other seven suffering from hypothermia but stable.
The search for victims continues. Source: MTI
It was not immediately clear exactly how many of the remaining 21 people were still missing.
Dozens of emergency vehicles were visible on a stretch several kilometres downstream from the site of the accident, which happened shortly after 9pm local time.
The hours that have passed since the accident make it 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 state media.
Heavy rainfall has caused the Danube to flood recently. Source: DPA
The National Ambulance Service is conducting searches downstream from Budapest and is on alert on the entire Danube stretch south of Budapest, where all boat traffic has been halted.
Television footage showed the bank of the Danube closed off by police on the Pest side, across from the World Heritage site of Buda Castle.
An undated file photo of the boat in River Danube. Source: MTI
The Danube's flooding and currents made rescue efforts extremely difficult, a diver told the state broadcaster, adding that the waters of the Danube were only about 10-12C.
The boat was a 27-metre double-decker river cruise boat that can hold up to 60 people, its owner Panorama Deck told state media.
A shipping expert told state television that it was likely that the pleasure boat had collided with a very large vessel that had sunk it very quickly.
The hull is yet to be found on the riverbed.
