Bulgarian cruise ship crashes in the Danube River, Austria

A Bulgarian cruise ship carrying over 140 passengers crashed into a concrete wall along the Danube River on Friday 29 March.

According to local police, the incident occurred late at night in the town of Aschach an der Donau in northern Austria.

The ship set sail from Passau, a German city on the Austrian border. When leaving the lock chamber further downstream the ships right bow and left aft crashed into the lock walls.

A police statement said: “the ship was suddenly no longer able to manoeuvre”.

Eleven passengers were hospitalised while six more experienced less serious injuries.

“The second captain of the ship, who was operating the helm at the time, immediately pressed the emergency switch, whereupon the electronics started again, and he was able to steer the ship out of the lock.”

The ship was later docked at the quay wall and emergency services were notified. Despite the loss of steering, the ship was able to continue its journey toward Linz, Austria.

An Austrian police statement indicated the collision was linked to a failure of electronics: “After checking the ship it turned out that the electronics worked again after the emergency switch was reset, which is why the ship could continue its journey.”

Europe's second largest river, the Danube flows through central and southeast Europe, from Germany’s Black Forest into the Mediterranean Black Sea. Popular among tourists, each year large numbers embark on cruises along it.

According to new research from Holidaysafe, there’s been a big increase in cruise travel insurance claims for ‘missed ports’.