Last body found

Shipwreck: motorboat driver was drunk

The search teams were able to finish their work. Now all the relatives have sad certainty.

(Bild: APA/AP)

Following the tragic shipwreck in Hungary, police and civil protection search teams have now found the last missing persons. Following the discovery of the body of a 30-year-old man on Sunday, the relatives of an 18-year-old girl also have the sad certainty that none of the missing persons survived the crash with a hotel ship.

The main police department of the Budapest police addressed the public with an extremely emotional post (see below): "We have found Daniella (...) The Danube returned her body in the Veröce area this morning. We have brought her home. Our sincere condolences to the family! Rest in peace, beautiful Daniella!"

The eight occupants of the motorboat, aged between 18 and 40, had come from a festival in the Danube Bend and, according to media reports, were on their way to another party when the accident occurred near Veröce, north of Budapest. Two dead bodies were recovered immediately after the collision with the MS Heidelberg. One passenger, an Italian citizen, was seriously injured and managed to escape to the shore. The police are hoping to obtain information about the accident as soon as the man is fit for questioning.

The traces of the collision on the hull of the MS Heidelberg

(Bild: APA/AP)

Motorboat was traveling in serpentine lines
The Czech captain of the Swiss-flagged hotel ship has now been arrested. He is being investigated on suspicion of failing to render assistance resulting in death.

In the course of the investigations to date, it was also established that the driver of the motorboat had been driving it under the influence of alcohol. This is because the boat had "used the entire width of the river and made several changes of direction for no reason", according to a statement by the investigating judge. Apparently, the driver wanted to avoid a collision, but was no longer able to avoid the cruise ship.