Two killed and five missing after horror boat crash near Budapest involving cruise ship as cops search for survivors

A HORROR boat crash has left two people dead and five others missing as cops desperately search for any survivors.

A packed cruise ship collided with a small motorboat carrying eight people along the Danube river in Verőce – just 34 miles from Budapest, say Hungarian police.

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In a frantic search for those on the damaged motorboat, two bodies were found by police late on Saturday evening.

A man was pulled out of the water onto the Danube river bank in the south of Verőce as just hours later a woman’s body washed up near the Megyeri Bridge in Hungary.

Five others – three men and two women – are still missing as firefighters, divers and police officers search along the Danube.

Disaster management teams are also said to be searching for survivors using 12 small boats, three drones and over 90 rescuers on foot.

A spokesperson for the Budapest Police Headquarters (BRFK), Soma Csécsi, said police were informed of the catastrophe after talking to a man was found with blood pouring from his head in Verőce.

Csecsi said: “Police talked to the man and from his initial communication they drew the conclusion that he was probably the victim of some kind of boat accident.”

The wounded man received urgent medical attention before being taken to the nearest hospital, said the National Ambulance Service.

Alongside the head injury, he has also damaged his collarbone and been left with minor bruises.

The motorboat that smashed into the giant 358ft cruiser was later found damaged as it was towed to shore by the emergency services.

The cruise ship, named locally as the Swiss-based Heidelberg, was found after a few hours with a damaged hull more than 50 miles along the Danube.

It can hold up to 110 people on board but police confirmed no one on board had been injured in the freak accident.

Investigations are ongoing into the fatal collision but the BRFK have reportedly opened up criminal proceedings against an unknown suspect.

They say a person has been detained due to suspicion of endangering water transport that led to the tragic deaths.

The area of water where the crash is thought to have happened on the Danube is around 1,500 feet wide just off the town of Verőce.

It sits on the Danube Bend which is often regarded as the best section of the iconic river for its impeccable views.

The bend is regularly used by boat enthusiasts and is part of the route cruise ships follow when travelling between Budapest and the Austrian capital of Vienna.

The chilling crash comes after at least 27 people were killed in Budapest when a river cruise boat fatally collided with a smaller tourist carrier in 2019.

The tourist boat, named Hableany, sunk in seconds dragging all 35 of its terrified passengers under water.