Danube cruise ship aground; 186 passengers being evacuated

Bulgarian border guards began evacuating 186 passengers on Tuesday from a cruise ship that ran aground on the Danube near Vidin after low water levels hindered navigation, the interior ministry said.

The Swiss-flagged Viking Ullur ran aground at about 2:20 am, around 25 kilometres upstream of Vidin in northeast Bulgaria. The ministry said the incident happened at night, in reduced visibility and because of the low level of water in the Danube.

The ship was carrying 186 passengers, all European Union citizens, and 52 crew members and service staff. It had been due to call at Vidin to resupply and was beginning to run short of drinking water, the ministry said.

For security reasons, the evacuation was being carried out with a border police speedboat and was expected to be completed before nightfall.

Another ship chartered by the shipping agent to take the passengers could not get close to the grounded vessel. Bulgarian police footage showed passengers wearing life vests being helped by emergency service personnel to board the speedboat.

The Danube, Europe's second-longest river, has recorded low water levels in recent weeks after a succession of heatwaves, hindering navigation.