BUDAPEST, March 12 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A Ukrainian cruise captain went on trial in Hungary over a collision on the river Danube last year that left 27 people dead, mostly South Korean tourists.
The Mermaid sightseeing boat carrying a tour group sank within seconds after colliding with the Swiss-registered Viking Sigyn river cruise vessel on May 29.
The disaster, on a busy stretch of the Danube in the heart of Budapest, was Hungary’s worst boating accident in more than half a century.
Only seven South Koreans were rescued, while 25 died, including a six-year-old girl, along with the Mermaid’s Hungarian captain and a crew member. A South Korean woman remains missing.
Some of the bodies were recovered dozens of kilometres south of the Hungarian capital.
Yurij Caplinskij, 64, is charged with “endangering waterborne traffic resulting in multiple deaths” and 35 counts of failing to provide help.
During the opening hearing at a district court in Budapest, prosecutors said they were seeking a nine-year jail term for Caplinskij if he admitted all the charges.
The Ukrainian refused to however, and declined to make any further statement.
The next court date was set for Apr 30.
Survivors and relatives of the South Korean victims did not travel to attend the hearing because of the coronavirus epidemic, the judge said. — NNN-AGENCIES
