Passengers stranded on board Swiss river cruise ship in Vienna due to Danube floods

Passengers aboard a river cruise ship in Vienna are currently unable to disembark due to flooding.

Thurgau Prestige embarked on a 8-day trip between Linz and Budapest on Friday 13 September 2024 and was due to reach the Hungarian capital on Monday 16 September.

The vessel has been moored in Vienna, Austria since Saturday 14 September, however, due to high water levels caused by Storm Boris.

102 passengers – 99 of whom are Swiss – and 40 crew members are believed to currently be aboard Thurgau Travel’s Thurgau Prestige .

In a statement made on 16 September, a spokesperson for Thurgau Travel described how at the time of press, Thurgau Prestige was safely moored in Vienna.

The passengers and crew were reported to be fine and well, and decisions as to when the ship could continue sailing, or when the passengers would be able to disembark, would be made by Austrian authorities.

According to the statement, Danube water levels had risen so much that shipping in the Vienna area had to be stopped. It also notes that experts had not expected this to happen, and that there were a number of other river vessels waiting in Vienna to continue their journeys.

When contacted by The Independent 17 September, a spokesperson for Thurgau Prestige indicated there had been “a significant change” with regards MS Thurgau Prestige, but did not elaborate further. The current status of the vessel is unknown.

The news comes as Storm Boris wreaks havoc across central and eastern Europe, causing record rainfall and flash flooding. At least 19 people are known to have died in the floods, with the death toll rising.

On Monday 16 September, the mayor of Polish city Nysa, Kordian Kolbiarz, issued an evacuation order, urging all 44,000 residents to seek higher ground due to the risk of a nearby embankment breaching.

Storm Boris, which unleashed a month’s worth of rainfall in just 24 hours, has caused severe flooding in Poland, Austria, Romania, and the Czech Republic, with rivers overflowing and embankments threatening to break under the strain of the floodwaters.