What happens to your body if you fall into the icy, fast-flowing Danube from a Budapest bridge

The tragic question arose after Mátyás Egressy was last seen walking onto the Chain Bridge, with no camera footage showing him leaving it. Meanwhile, a camera on board a Danube vessel recorded a body falling into the river. Based on a statement released by the family yesterday, there is a high likelihood that the person was Mátyás.

Many unanswered questions surround Mátyás’s disappearance

No one knows exactly what happened in the early hours of Saturday, 17 January, at the downtown nightclub Ötkert.

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Mátyás had been partying there with friends. According to the venue’s operators, he showed no signs of needing assistance when leaving. His friends said he had consumed alcohol, but not in excessive amounts. He later boarded the 907 night bus, where he fell asleep. Upon reaching the final stop at Örs vezér tere, the driver woke him and asked him to get off. According to the official statement, he complied without hesitation and did not ask for help.

From this point onwards, the situation becomes increasingly unclear. It remains unknown why he travelled to Csömör, why young people who encountered him there later said he appeared confused and kept repeating that “it’s over” because his phone was missing—an item his father believes was stolen. It is also unclear why he returned from Csömör to Kossuth Square, how friends later claimed to have seen him in Pesterzsébet, or why he did not go home.

His family suspects that something may have been added to his drink, as his father stated that Mátyás did not suffer from any mental health issues.

In the early hours of Sunday, cameras recorded him on the Chain Bridge, from which he did not leave. Based on the footage from a Danube vessel and the family’s statement released yesterday, it is believed he may have fallen into the fast-flowing river. His school and tennis club have already begun mourning him, while authorities continue the search.