Massive search for missing South Korean tourists after deadly boat collision in Hungary

Budapest, Hungary -- Dozens of rescue workers searched the Danube River in downtown Budapest for 21 people missing after a sightseeing boat with 33 South Koreans sank after colliding with a larger cruise ship during an evening downpour. Seven people were confirmed dead, Hungarian officials said.  

Seven others were rescued, Pal Gyorfi, spokesman for the National Ambulance Service, said. They were hospitalized in stable condition following the accident Wednesday night.

Two Hungarian crew members were also missing.

Hungarian police announced a criminal investigation into the crash.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in instructed officials to employ "all available resources" to support the rescue efforts in Hungary. Moon's spokeswoman Ko Min-jung said in Seoul that Moon also ordered the launch of a government task force led by Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha to assist Hungarian officials investigating the cause of the collision.

A team of South Korean officials left for Hungary on Thursday to assist with the rescue operations and support passengers and their families. Kang was also to travel to Hungary.

The foreign ministry said in a briefing Thursday that the Seoul government will closely cooperate with Hungarian officials so rescue efforts can proceed swiftly and effectively.

The 33 South Koreans included 30 tourists on a package tour of Europe, two guides and one photographer, according to the South Korea-based Very Good Tour agency, which organized the trip.

Agency officials said the tourists left South Korea on May 25 and were supposed to return June 1.

Most of them were traveling with their families, including a 6-year-old girl. Her status wasn't immediately clear but she didn't appear on a list of survivors provided by the tour agency.

Journalists told the Reuters news agency they saw children's ambulances on the riverbank. 

The travel agency said that the sightseeing boat was on its way back after an hourlong night tour when it collided with a larger cruise ship.

Senior agency official Lee Sang-moo disclosed the identities of the seven rescued South Koreans - six women and one man, aged between 31 and 66.

The sunken boat was located early Thursday near the Margit Bridge, not far from the neo-Gothic Parliament building on the riverbank.

Employees from the South Korean Embassy in Budapest were assisting Hungarian officials in identifying those rescued and the deceased.

Officials said searchers were checking the Danube for miles downriver from Budapest. The river was fast-flowing and rising as heavy rain continued in the city. Water temperatures were about 50-53 degrees.

Earlier, the news website Index.hu said one of those rescued was found near the Petofi Bridge, which is about 2 miles south of Parliament.

Dozens of rescue personnel, including from the military and divers, were involved in the search.

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." It has two decks and a capacity of 60 people, or 45 for sightseeing cruises.

Mihaly Toth, a spokesman for the Panorama Deck boating company, said the "Hableany" was on a "routine city sightseeing trip" when the accident happened. He told state television that he had no information about any technical problems with the boat, which he said was serviced regularly.

The Margit Bridge connects the two halves of the city, Buda and Pest, with a large recreational island in the middle of the Danube. It is the bridge just north of the famous Chain Bridge, a suspension bridge originally built in the 19th century that like the Parliament is a major tourist draw in the heart of the city.

The river flows south, meaning that survivors were likely to be swept through the well populated, historic part of the city.

Index.hu reported that other riverboats shined spotlights into the water to aid with the search, and that a film crew operating on the Liberty Bridge farther down the river directed its lighting equipment toward the Danube to assist. In recent years, Budapest has emerged as a popular destination for film, television and other commercial video production.

Budapest has enjoyed a boom in overseas tourism in recent years. Long-haul flights from as far away as Dubai and Beijing increasingly fly visitors from Asia and the Middle East to the Hungarian capital, a relatively affordable but history-rich European destination.

Hajoregiszter.hu, a local ship-tracking website, lists the "Hableany" as having been built in 1949 in what was then the Soviet Union.