Two dead and five missing after boat collision on River Danube in Hungary

Two people have died and another five are missing after two boats collided on Hungary’s River Danube, according to reports.

Police discovered the bodies of a man and woman near a shore in Veroce, 30 miles north of Budapest, on Saturday night. They also found a survivor, a man with a bleeding head.

Forces stopped a cruise liner 50 miles west at Komarom, believing that the 109m-long vessel had collided with a motorboat.

The hotel boat, which was seen with a damaged hull, is thought to have been travelling from Budapest. The Danube is a popular route for cruise boats journeying between Budapest and the Austrian capital, Vienna.

Hours after the police began their search, they discovered a damaged boat in the water and towed it to shore. They are still searching for five adults—three men and two women—who they believe were on the boat.

Police on Sunday said they have initiated criminal proceedings against an unknown perpetrator on suspicion of endangering water transport and causing the death of several people.

A spokesperson for the Directorate General for Disaster Management told Hungarian news agency MTI that a group of nearly 90 people from several regional disaster management agencies were conducting the search for the missing from the land, water and sky.

Twelve boats and three drones are involved in the search, and two rescue divers are also involved, Imre Doka said.