Police in Hungary say the captain of a river cruise ship involved in a deadly collision with a tour boat was not intoxicated at the time of the May 29 crash in Budapest.
A spokesman for Budapest Police said Tuesday that tests showed that the 64-year old Ukrainian captain of the Viking Sigyn was not under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
The cruise ship collided with a smaller sightseeing boat, killing 23 of the 33 South Koreans onboard as well as the two-man Hungarian crew. Seven survived and three are still missing.
Members of the Taekwondo Division of the Ujpest Gymnastics Association (UTE) throw flowers into the Danube river from the Margaret Bridge to commemorate the victims of the capsized sightseeing boat in Budapest, Hungary, Thursday, June 13, 2019, two days after the wreckage was salvaged from the riverbed. The sightseeing boat carrying 33 South Korean tourists sank on collision with a large river cruise ship on 29 May. (Zsolt SzigetvaryMTI via AP)
The cruise ship's captain, the only suspect in the collision so far, was released on bail last week.
The capsized Hableany (Mermaid) tour boat was lifted out of the Danube last week by a huge floating crane.
In this photo provided by the Budapest Police and taken on Tuesday, June 11, 2019, the Hableany (Mermaid) tour boat is inspected after being raised out of the Danube River and taken to a Budapest dock, in Budapest. A Budapest court says that the Ukrainian cruise ship captain suspected of responsibility in a deadly collision with a sightseeing boat on the Danube River has been released on bail. The captain's Viking Sigyn collided with the Hableany (Mermaid) on May 29. (Budapest Police via AP)
A barge transports the wreckage of the Hableany sightseeing boat from a site of inspection to a guarded dock in Budapest, Hungary, Thursday, June 13, 2019, two days after the wreckage was salvaged from the riverbed. The boat carrying 33 South Korean tourists and two Hungarian staff was crashed by a large river cruise ship and sank in the River Danube on May 29. Seven tourists survived, twenty-five people died, three persons are still missing. (Tibor IllyesMTI via AP)
A barge transports the wreckage of the Hableany sightseeing boat from a site of inspection to a guarded dock in Budapest, Hungary, Thursday, June 13, 2019, two days after the wreckage was salvaged from the riverbed. The boat carrying 33 South Korean tourists and two Hungarian staff was crashed by a large river cruise ship and sank in the River Danube on May 29. Seven tourists survived, twenty-five people died, three persons are still missing. (Tibor IllyesMTI via AP)
WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk expressed satisfaction on Monday after a series of candidates supported by his party won weekend races for mayor.
Candidates from his pro-European Union centrist Civic Coalition, or running with the party's backing, won in a series of cities in the second round of local elections held on Sunday, among them Krakow, Poznan, Wroclaw and Rzeszow.
“It is very difficult to clearly say who won and who lost,” Tusk said Monday. “But if we compare these results, especially in the most attractive places, on these attractive battlefields ... then I actually have reasons for satisfaction.”
“Law and Justice has simply disappeared in many places,” Tusk added at a news conference, referring to the main opposition party.
The results put Civic Coalition in a favorable position as the country looks next to elections to the European Parliament on June 9.
Mayors were chosen in a total of 748 cities and towns where no single candidate won at least 50% of the vote during the first round on April 7.
Candidates for Tusk’s party also recaptured cities where they had not held power for many years, including Zielona Gora, Legnica and Torun.
The local and regional elections were viewed as a test for Tusk's pro-European Union government four months after it took power at the national level. Sunday's second round strengthened the Tusk government's leverage in the cities, which should facilitate cooperation on development projects and allotment of EU funds.
Tusk's allies also won in some places in the first round two weeks ago, including in Warsaw, where incumbent Mayor Rafal Trzaskowski was an easy victor.
In the first round, the right-wing Law and Justice, prevailed on the level of regional assemblies in the country's 16 provinces, where it took 34.3% of the votes, while Tusk's Civic Coalition got 30.6%. Law and Justice governed on the national level from 2015-23.
Tusk’s socially liberal Civic Coalition traditionally has strong support in cities, while Law and Justice has a more solid base in conservative rural areas, particularly in eastern Poland.
Civic Coalition is the largest group in a three-party coalition that governs the EU nation of 38 million people. The coalition is pro-European Union but otherwise spans a wide ideological spectrum with left-wing politicians in the Left party as well as conservatives in the Third Way.
Polish voters take part in a local runoff election in Lomianki, near Warsaw, Poland on Sunday, April 21, 2024. Voters are choosing mayors who did not win outright in the first round of the election two weeks earlier. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)
Campaign posters promote candidates as Poles vote in local and regional elections in Lomianki, near Warsaw, Poland on Sunday, April 21, 2024. Voters are choosing mayors who did not win outright in the first round of the election two weeks earlier. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)
Polish voters take part in a local runoff election in Lomianki, near Warsaw, Poland on Sunday, April 21, 2024. Voters are choosing mayors who did not win outright in the first round of the election two weeks earlier. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)
Polish voters take part in a local runoff election in Lomianki, near Warsaw, Poland on Sunday, April 21, 2024. Voters are choosing mayors who did not win outright in the first round of the election two weeks earlier. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)
FILE - Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk reacts during his and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy meeting with students in Kyiv, Ukraine, Monday, Jan. 22, 2024. Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk is celebrating a victory on Monday April 22, 2024 after a series of candidates supported by his party won weekend races for mayor. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky, File)
FILE - Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk listens to the media in Berlin, Germany, Friday, March 15, 2024. Tusk is celebrating a victory on Monday April 22, 2024 after a series of candidates supported by his party won weekend races for mayor. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi, File)
