The captain of a cruise ship that collided with a small tour boat on the River Danube in Budapest, killing 28 people, has been sentenced to five years in prison. The crash occurred in May 2019 during a rainstorm, causing the Mermaid tour boat, carrying South Korean tourists, to sink within seconds.
Ukrainian captain Yuri Chaplinsky, 68, was found guilty of gross negligence. He had denied wrongdoing but was convicted after prosecutors argued he failed to pay sufficient attention and did not steer the ship properly for several minutes during the downpour. “He did not sense the Mermaid's presence, did not radio or send out emergency sound signals,” prosecutor Miklos Novaki told the court.
The Viking Sigyn cruise ship struck the Mermaid just after 21:00 local time on 29 May as both vessels passed under Budapest's Margaret Bridge. Seven of the 35 people on board were rescued, but many were swept away by the swollen river or trapped inside the boat. Twenty-five of the dead were South Koreans; the Mermaid's captain and a crew member also died. One Korean remains unaccounted for.
Chaplinsky, who has been in custody since the accident, expressed remorse in court. “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 said. He was acquitted on a charge of failing to provide help. The disaster was the worst on the Danube in 30 years.
