The cruise ship ms Edelweiss collided with a cargo vessel, loaded with cars, on Waal River close to Nijmegen at around 4:00 a.m. on Wednesday, March 20.
According to local safety office Veiligheidsregio Gelderland-Zuid, all passengers were shaken, but unharmed. The fire department and public works service Rijkswaterstaat evacuated the cruise ship.
The collision with the cargo vessel pushed ms Edelweiss into a pillar of a railway bridge over the river, thus making a hole in the hull, which caused a fire. Fortunately, the fire was immediately under control.
Currently, ms Edelweiss is in the middle of the Waal River, against the pillar. As a precaution, train traffic was halted for a time while the pillar's integrity was checked.
At the time of the accident, there were 240 people on board the cruise ship of Swiss shipping company Scylla, of which 160 passengers and 80 crew members.
The safety officials announced that the passengers had been transported ashore by ships from Rijkswaterstaat and the fire department. The crew members stayed onboard.