The Latest: Hungary: Divers try to recover bodies from boat
BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — The Latest on salvage efforts at site of sunken tour boat in Hungary’s capital (all times local):
9:45 p.m.
Hungarian police say divers have recovered a ninth body from the Danube River accident in which a sightseeing boat sank after colliding with a large cruise ship.
Police said Monday night the body belonged to a male victim and was found downstream from Budapest at the southern village of Harta, 110 kilometers (68 miles) by road from the Hungarian capital.
The victim’s nationality was not made public. The sightseeing boat carried tourists from South Korea.
Earlier Monday, the body of the eighth victim was recovered from the crash site on the river.
Only seven of the 35 people on the tour boat are known to have survived Wednesday night’s collision near the Hungarian Parliament building, while 19 people on board remain missing.
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6:50 p.m.
Hungarian officials say divers have recovered a body from the sunken tour boat carrying South Korean tourists that capsized last week after a collision with a cruise ship.
The agency leading the salvage operations said that Hungarian divers found a body in the water Monday morning during an inspection of the wreck and it was brought to the surface in the afternoon by Korean divers also assisting in the search and recovery efforts.
The identity of the deceased has not been released.
If confirmed as one of the victims of Wednesday’s collision, 20 others are still missing. Seven people were rescued after the sinking and seven others were confirmed dead.
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1:10 p.m.
Hungarian officials say exploratory dives have begun in the Danube River in attempts to recover any bodies still in the sightseeing boat that sank last week carrying Korean tourists.
Janos Hajdu, head of the Hungarian agency leading the salvage operations, says that the river’s speed has slowed slightly but it is still very hard for divers to move in it. He added that Hungarian divers aren’t allowed to enter the sunken boat.
Twenty-one of the 35 people aboard are still missing, with seven confirmed dead and seven rescued. The Hableany (Mermaid) collided Wednesday night with a large river cruise ship at Budapest’s Margit Bridge, capsized and sank in about seven seconds.
Hajdu said the wreckage was located nine meters (29 ½ feet) deep, about 3 meters (9 feet 10 inches) lower that previously reported by the government.
Hajdu added that a floating crane able to lift 200 tons and which would be able to hoist the boat out of the water is expected at the scene within days.
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10:30 a.m.
Preparations for salvage efforts of a sunken tour boat in the Danube River have resumed in Budapest.
A diver could be seen Monday morning entering the water from a pontoon in the river, holding on to a ladder in the river as other adjusted his air hose and other equipment.
The Danube’s fast flow, its high springtime water levels and near zero visibility under water have prevented divers from reaching the sunken boat so far.
The boat carrying South Korean tourists capsized and sank Wednesday night after colliding with a much larger river cruise ship near the Hungarian Parliament building.
Seven of the 35 people on board have been rescued, with seven confirmed fatalities and 21 people, including 19 South Koreans and the two Hungarian crew members, still missing.
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