Worthy Christian News > World News > Hungary Sentences Captain Over Deadly Boat Crash

Hungary Sentences Captain Over Deadly Boat Crash

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News reporting from Budapest, Hungary

BUDAPEST (Worthy News) – Tensions remained Wednesday after a Budapest court sentenced a captain to five and a half years in prison for his role in an accident in which his cruise ship hit and sank a smaller boat on the River Danube in Hungary, killing at least 27 people.

The tragedy, described as Hungary’s deadliest boat accident since World War Two, occurred on May 29, 2019, when the Viking Sigyn cruiseliner collided with the smaller Hableány (‘Mermaid’) sightseeing boat carrying 33 South Korean tourists and a crew of two Hungarians.

The Mermaid sank almost immediately after being hit by the Viking Sigyn under a bridge in Budapest near the parliament building during heavy rain, investigators said.
Twenty-five of those who died were South Koreans. The Mermaid’s captain and crew member also passed away, and one Korean is still unaccounted for. Only seven Korean passengers were rescued from the water.

The prosecutor’s office brought charges against the Viking Sigyn’s Ukrainian captain, identified only as Yuriy C., in July 2022. On Tuesday, the court convicted him of “negligence” prompting an appeal from the defense and prosecution.

The accused, Yuriy C. “is found guilty of … negligence posing a threat in water transport … and the court sentences him to five years in prison,” Judge Leona Németh said delivering the judgment.
The Ukrainian man, who has been in custody since 2019, told the court that he was “deeply sorry” about the tragedy. “I cannot escape the memories of this terrible tragedy for a minute, I cannot sleep, and I think this is what I have to live with for the rest of my life,” he told the court.

The defense said it has appealed “for acquittal or a lighter sentence,” while the prosecution wants “a second-instance court also to issue a guilty verdict for failure to provide aid to the victims.”

The Budapest court declined to sentence him on charges of failing to provide help. In her ruling, Judge Németh acknowledged that “the collision was caused by the Viking Sigyn, which accelerated without taking notice of the smaller Hableány and ascertaining that it was safe to do so.”

However, once the captain was aware of the accident, he “alerted the authorities and ensured that the rescue got underway,” she said.

BANNED FROM TRAFFIC

In the non-binding sentence, the captain was also banned from “maritime traffic.” He can be released on parole after serving two-thirds of his sentence, the court added.

The tragedy shocked Hungary with many tearfully burning candles and visiting the crash site at the time, Worthy News observed.

The South Korean and Hungarian governments also inaugurated a memorial to victims of the boat collision on the River Danube in 2021, marking the disaster’s second anniversary.

Engraved on the memorial, a seven-by-two meter granite block at Margaret Bridge, are victims’ names. Korea’s Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Choi Jongmoon, at the time, thanked the authorities and the Hungarian people “for their efforts to find the victims, and for the many prayers for the victims.”

The COVID-19 pandemic “had prevented victims’ family members from visiting the site,” which has caused them added sorrow,” he said during the monument’s unveiling.

South Korea has expressed hope that the court procedure would comfort relatives, while Hungary’s government stressed the ongoing friendship between the two nations “despite the unprecedented disaster.”