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Stranded cruise ship makes its way to Norwegian port

A cruise ship which got stranded when its engines failed in stormy weather on Saturday is making ...
Newstalk
Newstalk

12.05 24 Mar 2019


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Stranded cruise ship makes its...

Stranded cruise ship makes its way to Norwegian port

Newstalk
Newstalk

12.05 24 Mar 2019


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A cruise ship which got stranded when its engines failed in stormy weather on Saturday is making its way to a nearby port in Norway.

Hundreds of passengers remain on board the Viking Sky.

Helicopters worked through the night to winch people one-by-one from the ship, but they were able to get fewer than half of them to shore.

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Police said 16 people have been taken to hospital, three of them with serious injuries.

The cruise ship was carrying about 1,300 passengers and crew when it send mayday signals off the west coast of Norway.

Those who have been rescued have spoken of the fear as they were taken on one of the five available helicopters getting them back to land.

Janet Jacob, one of the first passengers saved, told Norwegian public broadcaster NRK: "I was afraid. I've never experienced anything so scary."

She said the winds were "like a tornado" and said she was praying "for the safety of all aboard".

Video posted on social media showed furniture sliding around inside the ship and debris falling from the ceiling as it listed heavily to one side.

Those on board are being hoisted one-by-one from the deck and taken by rescue helicopter to a village just north of the town of Molde.

An update indicated about 230 people had been brought safely off the ship.

Norway In this image taken from video made available by CHC helicopters, helicopters fly over the cruise ship Viking Sky after it sent out a Mayday signal because of engine failure off the west coast of Norway | Image: AP/Press Association Images

Per Fjeld, of the joint rescue centre in Southern Norway, said the remaining passengers were not in any danger, and the rescues would speed up when there was better light and weather.

The waves were 20-26ft high, and the wind blew at 24m per second, the Norwegian Meteorological Institute said.

"It's a demanding exercise, because they (the passengers) have to hang in the air under a helicopter and there's a very, very strong wind," witness Odd Roar Lange told NRK.

But reports say the storm has since abated.

"We were having lunch when it began to shake," American passenger John Curry told NRK.

"Window panes were broken and water came in. It was just chaos. The trip on the helicopter I would rather forget. It was not fun."

A spokesman for Viking Cruises said: "The ship is proceeding on its own power and a tugboat is on site. The evacuation is proceeding with all necessary caution.

"A small number of non-life threatening injuries have been reported. Guests are being accommodated in local hotels when they arrive back on shore, and Viking will arrange for return flights for all guests."

Built in 2017, the ship belongs to Viking Ocean Cruises - part of the Viking Cruises group founded by Norwegian billionaire Torstein Hagen.

According to the company website its passenger capacity is 930.

Main image: This photo provided by Michal Stewart shows passengers on board the Viking Sky, waiting to be evacuated, off the coast of Norway | Image: Michal Stewart/AP/Press Association Images


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