A Viking river cruise ship ran aground while sailing in Europe’s Danube River.
Viking Ullur came "into contact with a sandbank during a period of exceptionally low water levels" on July 28, the company told USA TODAY in an emailed statement.
"The safety and wellbeing of our guests and crew is always our highest priority," Viking said. "There were no injuries to guests or crew, and the vessel remained safe throughout the incident."
Bulgaria’s border police said the incident occurred near the city of Vidin, according to a translated Facebook post. There were 186 guests and 52 crew members onboard at the time.
Guests were brought ashore and continued their trip with a day in Bucharest, Romania before the itinerary’s planned conclusion on July 30, the cruise
line added. "Viking will communicate any further updates directly with impacted guests and their Travel Advisors," the company said.
The news comes after low water levels in the region amid heatwaves and drought have impacted other sailings. Avalon Waterways, another cruise operator, said it had canceled select departures on the Danube and Rhine rivers for that reason, Reuters reported earlier this month.
Conditions left several ships stranded or lingering in port. In Romania, Danube water levels dropped to their lowest point in three decades in late July, according to Reuters.
Nathan Diller is a consumer travel reporter for USA TODAY based in Nashville. You can reach him at ndiller@usatoday.com.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Viking cruise ship runs aground in Danube amid low water levels
