The Latest: Seoul says tourists did not wear life jackets

World

The Latest: Seoul says tourists did not wear life jackets

The Associated Press

May 29, 2019 10:53 PM

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Responders sit in a rubber dinghy preparing for the search of victims next to a landing dock after a tourist boat crashed with another ship late Wednesday, May 29, 2019. The boat capsized and sunk in the Danube River Wednesday evening, May 29, 2019, in Budapest, with dozens of people on board, including passengers and crew, Hungarian media reported.


MTI via AP

Zsolt Szigetvary


BUDAPEST, Hungary

The Latest on a boat that capsized in the Danube River in Budapest with 33 South Korean tourists (all times local):

7:50 a.m.

South Korean Foreign Ministry says South Korean tourists in the deadly boat collision in Budapest weren’t wearing life jackets.

Officials in Seoul say seven South Korean tourists are dead and 19 others remain missing after their sightseeing boat collided with a larger cruise ship and capsized Wednesday night in the Danube River. Seven South Koreans have been rescued.

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The Foreign Ministry says South Korean diplomats in Hungary have learned the tourists did not put on life jackets at the time of the collision.

It says it’s “customary” for tourists taking a sighting boat on the Danube not to wear life jackets. 

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7:40 a.m.

A South Korean travel agency says the Hungarian sightseeing boat that capsized leaving at least seven dead and 21 missing on the Danube River in Budapest was on its way back from an hourlong night tour when it collided with a larger cruise ship that caused the sinking.

Very Good Tour had said earlier Thursday in Seoul that it believed the tour boat was anchored before departure when it collided with the larger cruise ship, citing information from an employee at the scene.

Company official Lee Sang-pil says it remains unclear whether the passengers were wearing life vests.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in has ordered officials to mobilize all available efforts to support the ongoing rescue in cooperation with the Hungarian government.

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7 a.m.

A 6-year-old girl is among 30 South Korean tourists whose boat capsized after a collision on the Danube River in downtown Budapest.

A search is underway for 21 people missing while seven have been confirmed dead and another seven have been rescued.

In Seoul, South Korea, tour 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 girl’s status is unclear but she does not appear on a list of survivors provided by the travel agency.

The sunken boat was located early Thursday near the Margit Bridge, not far from the neo-Gothic Hungarian Parliament building on the riverbank. Lee says the tour boat was anchored when it was hit by a bigger ship.

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5:15 a.m.

A tour agency says the family members of seven South Koreans killed during a boat capsizing in Budapest will fly to the Hungarian capital as early as Thursday night.

The Very Good Tour agency in South Korea says its staff will take 16 family members to Budapest.

Senior agency official Lee Sang-moo says the seven dead are among 30 South Koreans who had been on a package tour in Europe.

Lee says three other South Korean nationals — two guides and a photographer — were also aboard the capsized boat.

He says the boat was anchored when it was hit by a bigger ship on the Danube River in downtown Budapest.

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4:25 a.m.

A tour agency says the South Koreans whose boat capsized in Budapest were on a package tour program in Europe.

Seoul officials say seven South Korean tourists are dead and 19 others remain missing when their sightseeing boat collided with another vessel and capsized Wednesday night in the Danube River. Seven South Koreans have been rescued.

The Very Good Tour agency in South Korea said Thursday that the tourists left South Korea on May 25 for a group tour program that began with a visit to Munich, Germany.

The agency says they were supposed to return to South Korea on June 1.

It says most of the tourists were traveling with their family members.

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3 a.m. Thursday

South Korean President Moon Jae-in has ordered officials to mobilize all available efforts to support rescue work in cooperation with the Hungarian government after a boat with South Korean tourists capsized in Budapest.

Seven South Korean tourists are dead and 19 remain missing. Seven have been rescued.

Moon’s office said Thursday he also ordered the launch of a government task force headed by the foreign minister.

South Korea’s Foreign Ministry says it’s considering sending a team of 18 officials to Hungary at an early date. A ministry statement says the team would include Foreign Ministry officials and rescue workers.

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10:25 p.m.

Hungarian media say a boat has capsized in the Danube River in Budapest, with 34 people on board, including passengers and personnel.

State news wire MTI says rescuers are at the scene near Hungary’s parliament, including a fire boat.

Some people have been rescued and a search is underway for others.

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