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Hungary boat tragedy toll climbs to 25

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Budapest: The death toll from a Budapest tourist boat sinking rose to 25 with a man’s body found about 100 kilometres from the accident site, police said on Thursday.


The Mermaid capsized seconds after colliding with a bigger river cruise vessel on a busy stretch of the Danube in the heart of the Hungarian capital on May 29.


Thirty-five people, all of them South Koreans except for the Hungarian captain and a crew member, were on the boat when it sank. Only seven South Koreans survived so far.


The 25th body was found on Wednesday about 100 kilometres down river from the accident scene, police said in a statement, adding that three South Koreans were still missing.


The search for the three continues and South Korea has insisted it wants all the victims accounted for.


Rescue workers on Tuesday lifted the sunken vessel out of the Danube.


Efforts to dive to the wreck had repeatedly been called off due to the heavy current of the river swollen by weeks of rain.


The captain of the larger vessel, the Viking Sigyn which collided with the Mermaid, has been charged after being detained on suspicion of “endangering waterborne traffic resulting in multiple deaths”.


The captain, a Ukrainian national identified only as Yuriy C, has been released on bail following a court order on Wednesday.


— AFP


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