The Viking Freya was carrying 230 people when it crashed in the dark just after leaving Erlangen at around 1.30am on Sunday.
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A police spokesman said it appeared the retractable wheelhouse wasn’t lowered in time, the dpa news agency reported.
The Blick ama Abend newspaper indicates that that the two crew members who were killed were Hungarians.
Apparently the wheelhouse was not retracted at the time of the incident.
Two crew members have died when a river cruise boat hit a bridge in southern Germany.
In a statement Viking Cruises said the company was “heartbroken”. It was headed down the Main-Danube Canal on its way to the Danube River and to Budapest when it struck a rain bridge suspended over the river.
The company has launched an enquiry to find out what happened and is working with authorities at the scene.
They were forced to remain on board the ship for hours until rescue workers could extend a walkway to get them off the vessel and take them to nearby hotels.
The ship’s 181 passengers were transported to local hotels and no other crew members or passengers were injured.
Customers were given a chance to continue their cruise on another vessel from the town of Passau or return home.
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No future sailings are expected to be impacted.
