STORY BEHIND ACCIDENT

[Anchor Lead]

The captain of the Viking Sigyn cruise ship still claims that he is blameless in last week's incident. But questions have been raised about if he was really unaware that his ship had collided with the sightseeing boat. Newly released video footage shows the accident from a different angle and investigators are trying to determine whether it was an innocent mistake or a hit-and-run accident.

[Pkg]

This is newly released footage of last week's accident. The smaller boat seems to be attached to the bow of the larger Viking Sigyn as it heads toward the bridge. It is the tour boat Hableany. Suddenly, several people gather on the top of the cruise ship and some race toward the ship's stern. The footage also shows several people on the upper deck of the sightseeing boat. The camera captured the incident from the time the boat was struck to the moment just before it capsized. Moments later, the cruise ship that had gone out of frame reappears. It had backed up. Then, it remained at the site of the accident for about 20 seconds. The Hungarian press analyzed the images to report that five or six people were seen in the water as the crew members of the cruise ship threw two life vests. But the cruise ship left the scene immediately without making any rescue attempts. It was other ships nearby that called for help and rescued the survivors.

[Soundbite] (CREW MEMBER OF A NEARBY SHIP) : "We threw two life preservers to two Korean women and my co-workers and I pulled them up out of the water."

This footage clearly shows that the cruise ship stopped for a moment after backing up after the accident and left without making any rescue attempts. The video was released by the Hungarian Passenger Boat Association to which the capsized Hableany belonged. In Korea, when a vessel that caused an accident leaves without taking proper rescue measures, the ship's captain may be sentenced to up to life in prison depending on the number of fatalities.