Britons airlifted from stranded cruise liner smashed by 40ft waves
Holidaymakers’ legs broken as they are hurled to ship’s deck by raging seas
BRITISH tourists were among hundreds of terrified passengers last night being winched to safety from a stranded cruise ship buffeted by mountainous seas off the coast of Norway.
There were 200 Britons on board, among the Viking Sky’s 900 passengers and 400 crew. The ship was travelling from Bergen to London.
Derek and Esther Browne, from Brockenhurst, Hampshire, told how they were dramatically rescued by helicopter as 40ft waves crashed over the ship and 45mph winds screamed across the deck.
They described scenes of chaos with passengers, who had paid more than £5,000 for the cruise, suffering broken legs as they were thrown to the floor by one giant wave.
Several were taken off the vessel on stretchers and others needed oxygen.
The drama began when the engines of the 900ft-long Viking Sky failed as it navigated a perilous stretch of coast.
Dramatic videos posted by those still waiting to be rescued showed chairs and tables careering across rooms as the ship lurched violently from side to side, and staff rushing to help as ceiling panels crashed down on passengers.
Other videos showed water pouring into a seating area as passengers wearing lifejackets waited to be rescued after waves smashed through a glass partition.
One passenger said she had been submerged and thought ‘that was it’.
Norwegian police said they first received reports of the ship being in distress at 2pm yes recovering terday, in an area known as Hustadvika, where several ships have been wrecked.
The ship sent mayday messages and the coastguard sent helicopters and rescue vessels – but boats could not reach the liner because of the treacherous conditions.
One cargo ship that tried to help got into trouble, and its nine crew had to be rescued.
Eventually, the Viking Sky managed to restart one engine and it put its anchor down just over a mile off the coast, allowing the rescue operation to gather pace.
The Brownes were last night in a hotel in Molde, western Norway, while coastguard helicopters continued to battle the appalling weather conditions and rescue the remaining people on board.
Speaking to local Norwegian newspaper Romsdals Budstikke, Mr Browne, 76, said: ‘There were some people who had fallen over, broken their legs, who had to be carried out on a stretcher. ‘They had priority. Then we eventually got our turn in the helicopter to be winched up.’ The pensioners said it had been impossible to walk on board the ship due to the strength of the waves striking the vessel and they had been forced to abandon all their possessions in their cabin, including their passports. A woman in Britain posted a message from a relative on board who said: ‘A wave smashed a door right behind us. We were submerged under water and thought that was it. I’ve been stretchered off.’ Caroline Bayley, whose parents were on board, said her father had told her: ‘A really big wave came along. It blew out the window and deck door. We got washed over to the other side of the ship and back.’ An American woman on board added: ‘Water came in and people fell down and they were getting cut because of the broken glass.’ A spokesman for the Norwegian coastguard said: ‘The majority of passengers are British or American. So far we have evacuated 115 people, and there are 900 passengers, so it will take a while. ‘The ship is steady and in one place.’