Dozens of wounded on collision cruise ship

duisburg - At least 25 passengers of a cruise ship were wounded on Christmas Day when the ship landed against a pier of a car bridge. The accident happened in the evening on the Rhine near Duisburg. The ship was on its way to the Netherlands and a part of the passengers is Dutch.

There were 129 people aboard the ship Swiss Chrystal when the accident happened. Of the passengers, 21 were slightly injured, four passengers had to go to the hospital with serious injuries. Nobody is in danger, says the German police.

The passengers came mainly from Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg. It is not known if there are Dutch casualties. There were 103 passengers, the remaining 26 crew members were crew members.

Many people on board saw the accident, which damaged the bow of the ship, happen. According to the German police, it was a slight collision. Firefighters were involved in the rescue operation.

Another cruise ship came to the rescue and took over the passengers. The bridge is part of the A42 motorway. This highway is still closed for the time being. Experts have to test the strength of the bridge on Wednesday.

The shipping company has a replacement ship. The travelers can continue their journey with this ship. The travel organization has arranged hotels for people who want to go home. Also, transport to the residences of the tourists has been arranged.

The Swiss Chrystal is a ship of the Swiss shipping company Scyalla. The ship dates from 1995 and has undergone a major renovation in 2007.