At least seven people have died and several are missing in the Hungarian capital Budapest following a river boat with South Korean tourists on board.
The double-decker boat was moored near the Danube River Hungarian Parliament building and hit by another tourist vessel, reported state news agency MTI.
It then turned and sank on the river that flooded with very strong currents, while the city was enveloped by a rainstorm.
Rescuers were on the scene, including a fire boat and over a dozen vehicles visible from the accident site several hundred meters downstream, while other boats docked on the banks of the river shone spotlights on the river in heavy rain.
So far, fourteen people have been lifted from the river, seven of them dead, reported state television. Several were hospitalized.
MTI said 34 people, including two crew members, were on board, and the majority were tourists from South Korea.
Citing a statement from the Ministry of the Interior, State TV reported that after being rescued, one person was rescued successfully.
Index.hu news site said the rescued person was found near the Petofi Bridge, about two miles south of the House.
There were eighteen people accounted for.
The vessel that sank was identified as the Hableany (Mermaid), described at 89 ft (27 m) long on the website of the sightseeing company as "one of the fleet's smallest members."
It has two decks and a capacity for 60 people, or 45 for sightseeing cruises, and has been equipped with a 150-horsepower engine, MTI was told in a statement by its owner, Panorama Deck Ltd.
"We mobilize every resource we need to protect people's lives," added the company.
The floods and currents of the Danube made rescue efforts extremely difficult and water was only about 10-12C (50-54F), a rescuer told the state broadcaster.
Television footage showed the closed-off Danube bank at the Pest bank, directly across from Buda Castle's World Heritage site.
Police ordered all shipping, it said in a statement, to stop on the Danube in central Budapest.
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