The Latest on the fatal Danube River boating accident in Hungary’s capital (all times local):
15:30
Hungarian prosecutors say that the Ukrainian captain whose river cruise ship was in a deadly collision in Budapest with a Danube sightseeing boat, was also involved in a collision in the Netherlands on April 1.
The Budapest Chief Prosecution Office also said Thursday that the captain erased data from his mobile phone after the May 29 accident in Budapest, but could not confirm yet that the missing information was connected to the accident.
Sixteen of the 33 South Koreans aboard the tour boat are confirmed dead, while 12 people, including the two Hungarian crewmembers, are still missing. Seven South Koreans were rescued.
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1 p.m.
South Korean fingerprint experts are assisting Hungarian officials in identifying the South Korean victims of last week’s tour boat accident in Budapest.
Fifteen of the 33 South Koreans aboard the Hableany (Mermaind) tour boat died after a collision with a river cruise ship, with 13 more and the two Hungarian crew members still missing. Seven South Koreans were rescued after May 29 accident.
South Korean Police Chief Superintendent Im Byung-ho said Thursday that special techniques allow fingerprints to be taken even from bodies that have spent up to three months in the water.
Officials said that after fingerprints are sent to South Korea, a preliminary identification is available in an hour, while written confirmation of the deceased’s identity usually arrives in three hours.
The lifting of the Hableany from the river floor with a massive floating crane is being delayed by the Danube’s high water levels.
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9:40
Hungarian police say two more bodies have been recovered from the Danube River tour boat crash, raising the death toll to 15, with 11 of the 33 South Koreans on board and the two Hungarian crew members still missing.
Seven South Korean tourists were rescued after the May 29 collision between the Hableany (Mermaid) sightseeing boat and the Viking Sigyn river cruise ship.
A huge floating crane may be able to lift the Hableany out of the water in the coming days.
However, the Adam Clark, named after the Scottish engineer who oversaw construction of Budapest’s Chain Bridge completed in 1849, was docked Thursday in north Budapest, as the Danube’s high water level is not allowing it to reach the site of the wreckage, near the Hungarian Parliament building.