BUDAPEST, Hungary — As divers descended Friday into the Danube, Hungarian authorities predicted it would take an extended search to find the 21 people still missing after a boat carrying South Korean tourists was rammed by a cruise ship and sank into the river in Budapest.
Seven people so far are confirmed dead and seven others were rescued.
Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto and his South Korean counterpart, Kang Kyung-wha, visited the site of Wednesday’s accident and met with rescue and search officials before holding talks.
“We have to prepare for a protracted search,” Mr. Szijjarto said he was told by Budapest river police, adding that authorities were also expecting help from Serbia, where the Danube flows after leaving Hungary. “It is not unimaginable that we will need to depend on them in the coming days.”
Divers in full equipment went into Danube but were unable to inspect the wreckage of the boat due to the extremely murky waters and heavy currents from recent rains. Officials said it could take days to recover the 70-year-old boat, which was built in the former Soviet Union.
Just hours after Wednesday night’s collision, the body of one victim was found nearly 7 1/2 miles downstream from the site of the collision, near the Hungarian capital’s neo-Gothic parliament building.
“The wreck is located more than [20 feet] deep and the water level continues to rise because of the expected rainfall,” Mr. Szijjarto added.
Hungarian police have detained and questioned the captain of the Viking Sigyn river cruise ship that collided with the sightseeing boat. Mr. Szijjarto said the 64-year-old Ukrainian captain protested being considered a suspect. Identified only as Yuriy C., he is suspected of endangering water transport leading to a deadly mass accident. Police have proposed placing him under arrest.
The Viking Sigyn has been allowed to sail onto Germany but Ms. Kang said the ship’s owner “has promised to fully cooperate with the investigation.”
“If the investigation finds the ship’s owner responsible, there will be a thorough legal response,” she added.
A South Korean group on a package tour of Europe — including 30 tourists, two guides and a photographer— were on an hourlong sightseeing tour of Budapest when their boat collided with a Viking cruise ship during a downpour Wednesday evening.
Nineteen South Koreans and two Hungarian crew members — the captain and his assistant — remain missing.
First Published: June 1, 2019, 4:00 a.m.
