Hungary tourist accident: Operation to raise capsized boat begins

Rescue workers and crew members are helped by a giant floating crane, the Clark Adam ship, to lift the sunken sightseeing boat Mermaid in Budapest on June 11, 2019 Image copyright AFP
Image caption A giant crane was slowly lifting the sunken ship to the surface

Salvage crews have begun the operation to raise a tourist boat that sank on the Danube in Budapest last month.

The Mermaid was carrying South Korean tourists when it was in collision with a cruise ship and capsized, leaving 20 people dead and eight others missing.

Rescue efforts in the Hungarian capital have been hampered by high water levels, made worse by heavy rain.

Footage from the scene on Tuesday showed a floating crane slowly winching the boat to the surface.

Before the boat is fully raised, divers will enter the wreck to search for any bodies still trapped inside, officials said.

The operation will then continue slowly. Crews have struggled to assess how much damage the 70-year-old boat sustained in the collision, salvage experts said.