Ukrainian boat captain found guilty in Hungary over fatal 2019 Danube collision

A shrine to 27 South Korean tourists who died when their cruise ship collided and sank under the Margaret Bridge, Budapest, in 2019 (Alamy/PA)

The captain of a river cruise boat that collided with another vessel in Hungary’s capital in 2019, killing at least 27 people, has been found guilty of negligence leading to a fatal mass catastrophe and sentenced to five years in prison.

Judge Leona Nemeth with the Pest Central District Court found that the negligence of the Ukrainian captain, Yuriy Chaplinsky, had caused his river cruise boat, the Viking Sigyn, to collide with the tourist boat Hableany (Mermaid) from behind, causing it to sink into the Danube River within seconds.