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WORLD NEWS Friday 31 May 2019

7 dead, 21 missing after SKorean tour boat sinks in Hungary

By PABLO GORONDI Thursday to assist with the
HYUNG-JIN KIM rescue operations and sup-
Associated Press port passengers and their
BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) families. Kang was also to
— Rescue workers scoured travel to Hungary.
the Danube River in down- The Very Good Tour agen-
town Budapest Thursday cy said the tourists left South
for 21 people missing after Korea on May 25 and were
a sightseeing boat carrying supposed to return June 1.
South Korean tourists sank Most of them were family
in a matter of seconds af- groups, and they included
ter colliding with a larger a 6-year-old girl. Her status
cruise ship during an eve- wasn’t immediately clear
ning downpour. but she didn’t appear on a
Seven people are con- list of survivors provided by
firmed dead and seven the tour agency.
were rescued, Hungar- Senior agency official Lee
ian officials said. Police Sang-moo disclosed the
launched a criminal investi- identities of the seven res-
gation into the incident. cued South Koreans — six
The South Korea-based women and one man,
Very Good Tour agency, aged between 31 and 66.
which organized the trip, A rescue boat searches for survivors on the River Danube in Budapest, Hungary, Thursday, May The company is arranging
said the boat had been on 30, 2019. for family members of the
its way back after an hour- Associated Press tourists to travel to Hungary
long night tour on Wednes- as heavy rain continued in A team of South Korean of- ficials left for Hungary on as soon as possible.q
day evening when the ac- the city. Water tempera-
cident happened. tures were about 10 to 12
Nineteen South Koreans degrees Celsius (50-53 de-
and two Hungarian crew grees Fahrenheit).
members are missing. The Earlier, the news website
tour party had consisted Index.hu said one of those
of 30 tourists, two guides rescued was found near
and a photographer on a the Petofi Bridge, which is
package tour of Europe. about 3 kilometers (2 miles)
Pal Gyorfi, spokesman for south of Parliament.
the National Ambulance Dozens of rescue person-
Service, said those rescued nel, including from the
were hospitalized in stable military and divers, were
condition. involved in the search.
The sunken boat was locat- Employees from the South
ed early Thursday near the Korean Embassy in Buda-
Margit Bridge, not far from pest were assisting Hungar-
the neo-Gothic Parliament ian officials in identifying
building on the riverbank. those rescued and the de-
Police Col. Adrian Pal said ceased.
the boat turned on its side South Korean President
and sank in about seven Moon Jae-in instructed of-
seconds. He said that res- ficials to employ “all avail-
cue operations were ham- able resources” to support
pered by the rain and the the rescue efforts in Hunga-
fast flow of the rising Dan- ry. Moon’s spokeswoman,
ube. The search for the 21 Ko Min-jung, said in Seoul
missing extended far down- that Moon also ordered the
stream, even into Serbia, launch of a government
where the Danube goes task force led by Foreign
after leaving Hungary. Minister Kang Kyung-wha
The river, which is 450 me- and for officials to maintain
ters (500 yards) wide at close communication with
the point of the accident, the family members of the
was fast-flowing and rising South Korean passengers.