Seven South Korean tourists have died and another 21 people are missing after a boat sank on the Danube river in Hungary’s capital, Budapest.
Thirty South Korean tourists and three tour guides, as well two Hungarian crew, were on the boat when it and another vessel collided.
The incident occurred at about 22:00 local time (20:00 GMT) on Wednesday.
Seven people have been rescued, and a massive search operation is continuing on a river swollen by heavy rainfall.
The rain had led to strong currents on the Danube, a popular draw for tourists.
Rescue teams say there is little hope of finding any more survivors.
A criminal investigation has been launched.
The boat that sank near the parliament building in central Budapest was identified as the Hableany, or Mermaid.
The Hableany has two decks and a capacity of 45 people for sightseeing trips.
CCTV footage has emerged purportedly showing the Hableany and a larger vessel colliding near the Margit (Margaret) Bridge.
Some reports suggest that the Hableany was hit from behind.
This has not been confirmed by the Hungarian authorities, as they investigate a rare incident on the Danube, where navigation is busy but generally safe.
At a news conference on Thursday, police spokesman Adrian Pal said the boat had sunk almost immediately after the collision, Reuters reports.
Meanwhile, Imre Horvath, the head of the Hungarian National Shipping Association, said he believed it was a human error, MTI news agency reported, although he gave no further details.
South Korea’s foreign ministry confirmed that seven of its citizens had died and 19 were missing.
Hungarian police officials later said 21 people were unaccounted for, but it was unclear whether this included any tour guides and crew members.
The South Korean ministry said a team of officials would be sent to Hungary, adding that counselling would be made available to victims’ families.
At a press conference in the South Korean capital, Seoul, a spokesman for the travel agency behind the group’s tour, Lee Sang-moo, said at least one child was among the missing.
Pal Gyorfi, a spokesman for Hungarian emergency services, was quoted as saying that seven people had been pulled from the water.
He said they had been taken to hospital with “hypothermia and shock symptoms”.
