A boat carrying American, British and Canadian tourists on a sightseeing trip down the Danube River in Vienna rammed a landmark bridge on Thursday, smashing windows on the vessel and leaving 19 with minor injuries.
The MS Viking Europe tour boat, registered in Germany, struck a piling on the Reichsbruecke bridge, one of the main spans carrying traffic over the Danube in central Vienna, officials said.
A total of 135 passengers were on board, 129 of them Americans, authorities said. The rest were Britons and Canadians, and the boat was manned by a crew of 39. The vessel began its journey in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, and its final destination was Budapest, Hungary.
Police Colonel Robert Haas said the 19 victims, all of whom were United States or British citizens, suffered minor injuries, mainly scratches and bruises. One of the injured was a cook who suffered light burns, Haas said.
The injured were brought to a hospital for treatment, rescue officials said.
The collision damaged the restaurant deck of the boat, which was packed with tourists enjoying the scenery on a bright, sunny morning. Thursday was Corpus Christi, a Roman Catholic and national holiday in Austria.
The Vienna navigation authority said the stern of the boat rammed the bridge at about 8am local time as it was beginning to turn around, smashing windows and showering passengers with flying shards of glass.
The boat had begun the Vienna leg of its journey in the quaint Danube town of Duernstein, about 80km west of Vienna, and was preparing to swing around to return to the river’s main branch when it struck the bridge, Haas said.
The Reichsbruecke bridge, a popular landmark in Vienna often photographed for its dozens of ornate lamps that light it brightly at night, was not seriously damaged, officials said.
The span links the United Nations complex to Vienna’s downtown, and it has become synonymous with the Vienna City Marathon, which is run over the bridge.
Investigators said the second officer, and not the boat’s captain, was at the helm when the accident occurred. The officer was said to be distressed and in shock and was being treated by psychiatric experts.
The German company that operates the boat, Klaus Saar GmbH, said it is sending a technical expert to evaluate the damage and determine if the boat can continue the journey to Budapest. The vessel was built in 2001, the company said.
Dozens of tour boats ply the Danube daily, carrying thousands of tourists through the Austrian capital. Serious accidents are relatively uncommon. The worst recent accident happened in October 1996, when a Slovak tour boat foundered in floodwaters and sank, killing eight Slovak tourists. — Sapa-AP