Two dead after river cruise boat hits bridge in Bavaria

wo crew members died when a river cruise boat hit a bridge in Germany on Sunday (September 11). The collision happened on the Main-Danube canal in the city of Erlangen.

The two victims, aged 33 and 49, died when the driver’s cabin smashed into the bridge, police reported.

“They started with passengers last night towards Nuremberg. And then they forgot to take down the driver’s cabin in time. And then they crashed,” said onlooker Walter Mayer who followed rescue works on Sunday afternoon.

The boat with 181 passengers and 49 crew members was on a cruise from Erlangen to the Hungarian capital of Budapest. Guests and crew were safely evacuated and taken care off, a police report said. No injuries were reported.

The exact cause of the accident is still unknown. Officials are investigating the site of the accident.

The 171-kilometre-long Main-Danube canal is a main waterway in Bavaria. River cruises here are popular with tourists from all over the world. Cruises often start in Erlangen and continue via Austria, Hungary and Serbia down to the Danube delta in Romania