Small Ship Cruise News: River Boat Hits Bridge on Main-Danube Canal

Sep 12, 2016 | 0

River Boat Hits Bridge

Around 1:30am local time on September 11th while sailing on the Main-Danube Canal en route to Budapest, Viking River Cruises’ VIKING FREYA struck a rail bridge shortly after casting off from Erlangen, Germany, and tragically its wheelhouse was crushed.

The scene of the Viking Freya accident. Photo: Reuters

Two crew members inside of the wheelhouse were killed. Normal procedures are for the wheelhouse to be retracted before passing under a low bridge and raised again on the other side.

It’s not yet known why this didn’t occur with the VIKING FREYA.

The 181 passengers and 47 other crew members were not injured.

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QuirkyCruise

Ted & Heidi are long-time travel writers with a penchant for small ship cruising. Between them they've traveled all over the world aboard hundreds and hundreds of small cruise ships of all kinds, from river boats to expedition vessels and sailing ships.

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HEIDI SARNA

I'm up to 78 countries and 110+ cruises worldwide, and it's the small ship journeys that I love writing about most. And so QuirkyCruise.com was born, an excellent research tool for planning your own unforgettable small ship trip.

THEODORE W. SCULL

I have traveled between all continents by sea and cruised along three dozen rivers. Ships and travel are in my blood, and so is writing. My journeys have translated into many books and many hundreds of articles.

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I am happiest near water, over water or better still on a conveyance moving through water. When my brother Sandy and I were deemed old enough, mother took us to Europe by ship.

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