Swiss CrystalThe M/S Swiss Crystal river cruise ship collided with a highway bridge on the Rhine river near Duisburg, Germany last night.

The river cruise ship is operated by the Swiss shipping company, SCYLLA AG, which operates several dozen ships on the waterways of Europe.

Press Online reported that nearly 30 people were injured in the accident. The injury tally was reduced to 25 people injured as of this morning, with five sustaining serious injuries. Most of the passengers were reportedly Dutch. 

The 129 people were aboard the vessel, called a "hotel ship," which was traveling towards the Netherlands at the time of the incident. There were 103 guests and 26 crew members on the ship at Swiss Crystalthe time of the accident. There is no indication regarding the break down of those injured. 

About a hour later, another Scylla passenger ship reportedly came to the aid of the Swiss Crystal and took the crew members 103 passengers on board.  The passengers had the opportunity to continue the cruise or stay in hotels reportedly provided by the cruise company. 

European river cruises obviously do not have the same capacity as the larger oceangoing cruise ships, but they are not immune from hitting bridges, noro virus outbreaksfires, and more fires

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Photo credit M/S Swiss Crystal – Scylla (bottom); Press Online (top); Getty Imges BBC News.

Swiss Crystal