Hope fading for survivors of Budapest tourist boat accident

BUDAPEST, Hungary — For the South Korean tourists aboard the Mermaid, an 89-foot double-decker boat, it was one of the most anticipated parts of their Danube river cruise: sailing past the majestic Hungarian Parliament building.

The boat was passing under the Margaret Bridge on Wednesday night when a much larger sightseeing ship, the 442-foot Viking Sigyn, appeared to race up to the rear of the smaller vessel, clipping its stern and sending it spinning, according to video footage released by the police.

Dozens of passengers, from a 6-year-old girl to a 72-year-old man, were tossed into the fast-moving current as the Mermaid capsized. It took only seven seconds for the ship to start sinking, according to the police. On Thursday, the police confirmed that at least seven people had died and 21 others remained missing. Three bodies were found about 2 miles from the accident site, according to local reports. Hope was fading that the missing would be found alive.

It was the deadliest boating accident in the country in the past 75 years, Hungarian officials said. Attila Boros, a media officer with the National Police Headquarters, said that a criminal investigation has begun into the accident.

South Korea President Moon Jae In spoke by phone to Prime Minister Viktor Orban and asked for the Hungarian government’s support for search-and-rescue operations, Moon’s office said. Orban told Moon that 200 divers and medical professionals had been sent to the site of the accident, the office said.

South Korea was also sending an 18-member rescue team from its national fire agency to Budapest on Thursday. It will be followed by a team of 15 rescue experts from the South Korean Navy and Coast Guard, Moon’s office said.

The Danube collision took place at 9:05 p.m., according to...