Border Police Officers Evacuate Passengers and Crew from Stranded Ship on the Danube

The rescue operation is being carried out by officers from the Regional Directorate of Border Police – Ruse.

At around 2:20 a.m. this morning, the passenger ship Viking Ullur, sailing downstream under the Swiss flag, ran aground near river kilometre 817, approximately 25 kilometres upstream from Vidin (opposite the village of Gomotartsi). The incident occurred during hours of darkness, in conditions of reduced visibility and due to the low water level of the Danube River.

There were 186 passengers on board, all citizens of EU countries, as well as 52 crew members and service staff. The stranded vessel was due to take on supplies at the Port of Vidin, and drinking water on board had also become limited.

The ship's agent arranged another vessel to transfer the passengers, but it was unable to approach the location of the incident.

With permission from the Lom River Supervision Directorate, and following an additional assessment of the situation to avoid any risk to the health and lives of passengers, a decision was taken to begin an evacuation operation using a patrol boat from the Vidin Border Police Vessel Base.

After assessing the conditions and evaluating the risks, border officers began the evacuation with the assistance of crew members from the stranded vessel, while observing all necessary safety measures.

So far, around 40 passengers have been transferred from the stranded ship, and the operation is continuing intensively, with the aim of being completed during daylight hours.