“A memorial will be erected in Budapest to commemorate the victims of the Hableány pleasure-boat accident that occurred a year ago at the foot of Margaret Bridge”, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó announced on Friday at the site of the tragedy.

Mr. Szijjártó said the government has commissioned a Hungarian-Korean artist pair to prepare a plan for the memorial, which will first have to be authorised by the families of the victims. “If this happens, we are ready to have the work commissioned jointly, so that it can stand here at the Pest bridgehead of Margaret Bridge as soon as possible”, he added. The statue will be jointly funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, the Office of the Mayor of Budapest, the Municipality of Budapest, and the Korean Embassy. “In recent months, the whole world faced a new kind of challenge, when people’s lives, health and jobs were endangered because of the coronavirus”, the Minister stated. “During these past few months, people have needed to show exemplary discipline to enable us to bow our heads before the memories of the victims now, at least in this company”, he said.

“The Hableány pleasure-boat disaster is simultaneously a tragedy of two nations; the pleasure-boat, which was carrying Korean passengers who were marvelling at the beauty of night-time Budapest, was hit by a large hotel ship, and sank within just a few seconds”, he recalled. “The tragedy caused a deep shock throughout the country, and the people of Budapest, as well as many from rural Hungary, visited the site of the tragedy for weeks to pay their respects”, recalled the Minister, adding that the event at which Hungarians and Koreans sang a Korean folk song together in memory of the victims, had been deeply moving. “The days and weeks following the tragedy were also about unparalleled solidarity, cooperation, and professional expertise in the face of difficult conditions”, he said, thanking the Hungarian, Austrian, Korean and Serbian experts who were involved in the rescue and salvage operation, and recalling: “During the rescue operation, seven people were successfully rescued alive, after which as a result of the search operation and successful efforts to bring the wreck to the surface, the families of 27 victims were able to lay their loved ones to rest; the search for one victim is still ongoing”.

In the name of the government, the Minister expressed his condolences to the families of the victims and to the Korean nation. “The victims will forever be in our hearts, and we will never forget the tragedy”, he stated. “It is the legitimate expectation of all of us that we receive an answer with relation to exactly what happened, as is the fact that those who caused the tragedy be punished without the unnecessary prolongation of procedures”, Mr. Szijjártó said.  “The terrible tragedy has reinforced the friendship between our two nations”, he added. The Minister also announced that on Friday morning in Seoul, the Hungarian Ambassador presented official state Friendship Badges to 38 Korean divers and other people involved in the search and rescue operation.

Mayor of Budapest Gergely Karácsony said the Municipality of Budapest will be taking the necessary steps within its sphere of competence. “Because in addition to the obvious human negligence and transgression of the law, the regulations concerning boat traffic must also be reviewed”, he declared. “It is impossible to prepare for a tragedy; it changes our lives from one moment to the next, and following the events we can never again be the same person we used to be”, he emphasised. “These are the moments when we feel the world is collapsing, and there is nothing we can do about it. There is only one thing we can do: to try and search for justice in the injustice”, he stated. “33 of our fellow human beings came to Budapest to delight in the beautiful city, to unwind, to have a good time, and upon returning home to show their friends and family the photos of what they saw, but 28 of them never had the chance to go home. Two of our compatriots, a sailor and the captain, also lost their lives. The youngest victim was a six-year-old child, who was being looked after by her grandchildren when the tragedy struck”, he said.

“The Hableány disaster is even more painful and terrible because it was caused by human negligence. “The judicial system is taking the necessary action and will bring those responsible to justice, but even this cannot bring solace following such a tragedy”, he surmised. “No court decision can bring back innocent human lives, and no amount of years spent in prison can provide consolation in this terrible situation”, Mr. Karácsony stated. “There are no words or deeds that can alleviate the pain felt by the families of the victims”, the Mayor of Budapest said. “But it is nevertheless important that we state: We are one in this pain. We may come from different countries and continents, but the pain forges us into one”, he added.

The Republic of Korea’s Ambassador to Budapest Cho Kyu-Sik recalled: “Many innocent people lost their lives in the accident, and the families who lost their loved ones while they were visiting Hungary have being living with that pain ever since”. “The Embassy is doing everything possible to provide them with consolation, and to ensure that those responsible are prosecuted, and compensation occurs as soon as possible”, he added. “I pray that the last Korean victim of the tragedy, who is still being searched for, is found”, he noted. The Ambassador said it is not possible to commemorate the victims together with their families on this occasion, but that he hopes that in future this may occur when the memorial is unveiled. At the end of his speech, he read out a poem by a family member of one of the Korean citizens who lost their life in the accident. At the beginning of the ceremony, a minute’s silence was held in honour of the victims in accordance with Korean tradition, and at the end the Foreign Minister, Mayor and Ambassador jointly laid a wreath at the plaque commemorating the victims of the tragedy, and scattered white flower petals into the Danube.

(Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade/MTI)