OSLO, Walk 23 (Reuters) – Rescue helicopters evacuated dozens of people from a luxury cruise ship that suffered mechanism failure on Saturday in stormy weather off the west coast of Norway, police and rescue workers said.
The maritime save service said the Viking Sky, with about 1,300 passengers and crew on board, had sent out a mayday signal as it had been colour towards land.
The crew were later able to restart one engine and the ship was at anchor about 2 km from go down and the passengers were considered safe although the evacuation was set to continue, the rescue service said.
Only 87 child had been evacuated by 1750 GMT, and the airlift was set to continue throughout the night, rescue service spokeswoman Borghild Eldoen replied. Eight of those evacuated had suffered light injuries.
Passengers were hoisted one-by-one from the deck of the barque and airlifted to a village just north of the town of Molde on Norway’s west coast.
Cruise passengers described the wink of an eye when the ship’s engines stopped, and the evacuation that followed.
“We were having lunch when it began to tremble. Window panes were broken and water came in. It was just chaos. The trip on the helicopter, I would rather overlook. It was not fun,” American passenger John Curry told public broadcaster NRK.
A second vessel, a freighter with a crew of nine, was also being get rid ofed nearby after suffering engine failure, diverting helicopters and thus delaying the cruise ship airlift, the set free center added.
Two purpose-built vessels operated by the Norwegian Society for Sea Rescue had been forced to turn back due to the demanding weather, the service said.
Waves were 6-8 meters high, with wind blowing at 24 meters per espouse, according to the Norwegian Meteorological Institute. The storm was expected to last at least until midnight local time (2300 GMT).
The overtax of water known as Hustadvika and surrounding areas are known for fierce weather and shallow waters dotted with reefs, and Norway is estimating whether to build a giant ocean tunnel through a nearby mountain to improve safety.
The Viking Sky, built in 2017, be attaches to Viking Ocean Cruises, part of the Viking Cruises group founded by Norwegian billionaire Torstein Hagen. Go together to the company’s website, its passenger capacity is 930.
Several vessels and four helicopters took part in the rescue and facilities to pocket passengers have been set up on land, the rescue service said.
All search-and-rescue teams in the region are mobilizing, including 60 volunteers from the Norwegian Red Irascible, a spokesman said.
Viking’s operational headquarters, located in Basel, Switzerland, did not respond when contacted by telephone.
—Additional accounting by Stine Jacobsen; editing by Angus MacSwan and Andrew Cawthorne