On Sunday, a river cruise vessel with 230 people struck a bridge in Germany leading to the death of two crew members and the crushing of the wheelhouse, according to the authorities.
The cruise ship named Viking Freya had started on its voyage from the Erlangen town towards Budapest, the Hungarian capital that is along the Main-Danube Canal when the disaster took place, as per the version of the police.
The two crew members who died were a 33-year-old sailor as well as a 49-year-old man who was guiding the cruise ship on place of the ship’s captain.
Police has said that the 47 other crew members and 181 passengers who were on board the cruise were completely unhurt. They all remained on the cruise ship for several hours till the rescue workers arrived and could provide a walkway to enable them to get off the ship. Next, the rescue teams took the passengers to hotels located nearby.
The photos of the incident released on a particular radio website portrayed the passengers seated comfortably at tables inside the dining room of the cruise while they waited for the rescue teams to do their work.
A spokesperson on Viking Cruises said that they were really disappointed and that the company executives are trying their best to collaborate with local authorities to find out the details of the disaster.
The cause of the incident is currently being investigated as declared by the police. One of the spokesperson of the police said that the wheelhouse of the cruise was not lowered on time.
A spokesperson of Viking Cruise said that passengers would be able to continue with the rest of their journey with an additional cruise ship from Passau town or even choose to return home. He said that customer representatives would assist the passengers while they return home and discuss the compensation for the interruption of their trip.
