The Budapest Appeals Court has ordered a retrial of the first-instance procedure in the criminal case related to the Hableany sightseeing boat accident, which collided with a cruise ship on the Danube in Budapest in May 2019, killing 28 of the 35 people on board.
MTI states that the first-instance court sentenced the captain of the Viking Sigyn, the cruise ship, to 5.5 years in prison. The Appeals Court ordered a retrial, saying the judge in the case was biased.
The accused remains under supervision during the trial, the ruling said.
A judge participating in the sentencing procedure should have been recused from the trial, as they seemed to be unable to make impartial decisions, the court said. That runs afoul of procedural regulations, and so is a reason for retrial, the statement said.
In the accident on May 29, 2019, the Viking Sigyn cruise ship collided with the Hableany sightseeing boat which had 33 South Korean tourists on board and a crew of two Hungarians. Seven tourists were rescued from the water after the collision and the rest died. One of the bodies has not been recovered.
The prosecutor’s office brought charges against the Ukrainian captain in July 2022. Today, the court convicted him of negligence by endangering river traffic and causing a lethal accident.
In a civil lawsuit brought in connection with the accident, the Municipal Court awarded some 2 billion forints (EUR 4.8m) in damages to the families of the victims. The damages are to be paid by two shipping companies.
