Rescuers in Hungary have pulled a body from the Danube River more than 100 km downstream from the scene of the sightseeing boat accident in Budapest
ADVERTISEMENTRescuers in Hungary have pulled a body from the Danube River more than 100 km downstream from the scene of last week's boat accident in Budapest.
South Korean and Hungarian divers are working together to attempt to recover bodies from the wreck of The Mermaid, the sightseeing boat which sank on Wednesday carrying 33 South Korean tourists and two Hungarian crew.
At least seven people have died and a further 21 are still missing in the river's worst disaster in half a century. Many bodies are believed to still be trapped inside the wreck, which divers have not been able to reach since the accident because of high flood waters and strong currents.
The South Korean rescue team aims to recover bodies while the shipwreck is still on the river bed, while Hungarians are looking at the option of lifting the hull out of the water first.
Diving teams have also carried out an exploratory mission to find out how close they can get to the wreck.
Survivors of the Budapest tour boat disaster said they barely had time to grab hold of a drifting lifeboat while watching in horror as others around them struggled in the dark, rainy waters. Only seven of the 35 people on the boat were rescued.
Survivors said the small sightseeing boat had almost finished an hour-long night tour of the Hungarian capital and was nearly at its stop when a larger cruise ship hit it under a bridge near the parliament building, a city landmark.
They said about 20 people were on the deck taking photographs or preparing to disembark. The others were in the cabin.
Meanwhile, the 64-year-old Ukrainian captain of the Viking Sigyn cruise liner, which collided with The Mermaid, has been detained and faces a criminal investigation. He denies wrongdoing.