The Hungarian police has started lifting a sightseeing vessel that sank in the Danube river in Budapest last month killing 20 people. Eight people are still missing.
Among the 20 dead, seven were South Korean tourists. The boat’s captain and a crew member were also among the dead.
Those missing include a six-year-old girl as well another captain of the boat.
“The lifting operation could take six hours, and will be phased to allow divers to search the vessel for any victims still inside” a police spokesperson has said.
The Mermaid sightseeing boat overturned after colliding with a much larger river cruise ship on a busy stretch of the Danube.
Only seven people among 35 on board are known to have survived the accident.
The search operation has been extended to cover the entire length of the Danube in Hungary south of Budapest and Hungarian authorities have also contacted their counterparts in neighbouring Serbia.
Divers have been unable to enter the submerged boat due to strong currents in a river swollen after weeks of rain.
Once out of the water and removed to a secure location, the Mermaid will be examined by the police who have launched a criminal probe into the cause of the accident.