Ship hits Vienna bridge, injuring 19 tourists

Nineteen people were injured when a German tourist ship hit a bridge on the Danube in Vienna today.

Nineteen people were injured when a German tourist ship hit a bridge on the Danube in Vienna today.

The MS Viking Europe -which was carrying mainly American, British and Canadian tourists - hit a pillar of the bridge.

"It happened while the ship was turning. The rear of the ship struck a pier of the bridge," a police spokesman said.

Of the 135 passengers, 129 were Americans and the rest British and Canadian, police said. There were 39 crew.

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The injuries were minor, with passengers suffering scrapes and bruises. A ship's cook suffered burns when the impact knocked him over in the galley.

The ship was still functional, and the damage to the busy road bridge was slight, police said.