Hope fades for 21 missing after Budapest boat collision as other ship's captain arrested

Seven people on board have been confirmed dead and 21 are still missing.

ByJoohee Cho, Hansol Park, and Sorah Choi
May 31, 2019, 5:58 AM

SEOUL, South Korea -- Hope began to fade Friday morning in the search for 21 people feared lost after a boating accident in Budapest's Danube River.

There were 33 South Korean tourists and two Hungarian crew members aboard the Hableany, which translates to "Mermaid," when it collided with Viking Sigyn, a luxury cruise liner, Wednesday evening. Seven people have been confirmed dead.

The 86-foot-long tourist vessel sunk in about seven seconds after colliding with the 443-foot-long cruise liner.

PHOTO: A diver descends a ladder to dive to the wreckage as rescuers work to prepare the recovery of the capsized boat under Margaret Bridge in Budapest, Hungary, Thursday, May 30, 2019, after a sightseeing boat collided with a large river cruise ship.
A diver descends a ladder to dive to the wreckage as rescuers work to prepare the recovery of the capsized boat under Margaret Bridge in Budapest, Hungary, Thursday, May 30, 2019, after a sightseeing boat carrying 33 South Korean tourists collided with a large river cruise ship on River Danube near the bridge the night before.
Tamas Kovacs/MTI via AP

A survivor from the Hableany told Seoul-based Yonhap News Agency that the other ship just continued on its way and didn't stop to attempt a rescue.

Police on Friday arrested the 64-year-old Ukrainian captain of the Viking Sigyn, identified only as Yuriy C. Both captains, police said, were experienced sailors.

Authorities located the wreckage of the Hableany on the riverbed near the Margaret Bridge in central Budapest after several hours, but it may take a week to dredge up the 70-year-old boat, Yonhap reported.

Rescue operations have expanded nearly 20 miles downsteam, as South Korea has requested neighboring countries -- Serbia, Croatia, Romania, Ukraine -- assist in finding those still missing.

Of the seven recovered bodies, one was found more than 7 miles downstream about 2 1/2 hours after the collision, Hungarian police reported. Recent river flows have reached almost 7 mph.

"Those contributing to the search will continue to do everything possible," police said in a statement.

A South Korean task force and emergency rescue team headed by Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha arrived in Budapest around 8:40 a.m. local time on Friday. Representatives and employees of the company, Very Good Tour Agency, that arranged the trip also arrived in Hungary to assist survivors.

PHOTO: Kang Kyung-wha, center, foreign minister of South Korea, together with her Hungarian counterpart, Peter Szijjarto, right, visits the bank of the Danube River close to Margit Bridge.
Kang Kyung-wha, center, foreign minister of South Korea, together with her Hungarian counterpart, Peter Szijjarto, right, visits the bank of the Danube River close to Margit Bridge where a sightseeing boat capsized in Budapest, Hungary, Friday, May 31, 2019. Hungarian police have detained the captain of a cruise ship that collided with the sightseeing boat packed with South Korean tourists, causing it to sink quickly in the river in Budapest.
AP Photo/Marko Drobnjakovic

"I'd like to express my sincerest condolences to the victims and their families," Lee Sang Moo, executive director of Very Good Tour Agency, said at a press conference at company headquarters on Thursday. "Our representatives and employees will do everything they can to minimize the damage caused by the accident using every means and resources possible, regardless of the cost."

More than 40 family members of passengers on the Hableany departed South Korea on Thursday, with some arriving in Budapest on Friday morning.

South Korea's Foreign Ministry said none of the passengers on the sunken boat were wearing life jackets.

ABC News' Hakyung Kate Lee and The Associated Press contributed to this report.