The Ukrainian captain of the Vikyn Sigyn cruise ship Yuriy Chaplinsky, who collided with the small tourist boat Mermaid on the Danube River in Budapest, was jailed for five years. 28 people died in the accident.
The BBC writes about it.
Captain Chaplinsky denied guilt, but was found guilty of gross negligence. The husband can file an appeal.
During a downpour in May 2019, the Mermaid boat with South Korean tourists on board sank seconds after colliding with the liner.
In March 2020, the Hungarian prosecutorʼs office told the court that Czaplinsky improperly steered the vessel for several minutes during a downpour.
"I canʼt get rid of the memory of this terrible tragedy for a minute. I canʼt sleep, and I think itʼs something Iʼll have to live with for the rest of my life," Chaplinsky said in court.
- On the evening of May 29, 2019, on the Danube River in Budapest, a few meters from the abutment of the Margit Bridge, opposite the Hungarian Parliament building, the pleasure boat Mermaid sank after a collision with the liner Viking Sigyn. There were 35 people on board — 33 Korean tourists and two crew members. 28 people died. The captain of the Viking Sygin river ship turned out to be a citizen of Ukraine.
- On May 31, the Hungarian police arrested the captain of the cruise ship, and on June 12, he was released on bail. However, already on December 16, the man was arrested again.
- The Ukrainian captain of the Viking Sigyn was previously involved in another accident in the Netherlands.