Helicopters scramble to rescue 1,300 passengers from cruise ship
NORWAY (AFP) — Rescuers off Norway’s western coast rushed to evacuate 1,300 passengers and crew from a disabled cruise ship by helicopter, winching them one-by-one to safety as heaving waves tossed the ship from side to side and high winds battered the operation.
The Viking Sky issued a mayday call as bad weather hit and engine problems caused it to start drifting toward the rocky shore, the Norwegian newspaper VG reported.
Police in the western county of Moere og Romsdal said the crew, fearing the ship would run aground, managed to anchor in Hustadvika Bay, between the Norwegian cities of Alesund and Trondheim, so the evacuations could take place.
Rescue teams with helicopters and boats were sent to evacuate the cruise ship under extremely difficult circumstances, including gusts up to 38 knots and waves over 26 feet.
The area is known for its rough, frigid waters.
The majority of the cruise ship passengers were reportedly British and American tourists. About 180 have been evacuated, according to rescue officials.
Video and photos from people on the ship showed it heaving, with chairs and other furniture dangerously rolling from side to side.
Passengers were suited up in orange life vests but the waves broke some ship windows and cold water flowed over the feet of some passengers.
Norwegian public broadcaster NRK said the Viking Sky’s evacuation was a slow and dangerous process, as passengers needed to be hoisted one-by-one from the cruise ship to the five available helicopters.
“I was afraid. I’ve never experienced anything so scary,” Janet Jacob, among the first group of passengers evacuated to the nearby town of Molde, told NRK.