Norway cruise ship limps to port following helicopter rescue at sea
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Rescue helicopters took more than 475 passengers off a cruise ship stranded off Norway鈥檚 western coast in bad weather before the vessel departed for a nearby port under escort and with nearly 900 people still on board, the ship鈥檚 owner said yesterday.
The Viking Sky carried 1,373 passengers and crew members when it had engine trouble in an area of the Norwegian coast known for rough, frigid waters.
The crew issued a mayday call on Saturday afternoon.
Five helicopters flying in the pitch dark took passengers from the tossing ship in a painstaking process that continued throughout the night.
The rescues took place under difficult conditions that included wind gusts up to 70 kilometers per hour and waves over 8 meters.
鈥淐urrently we understand 20 people suffered injuries as a result of this incident, and they are all receiving care at the relevant medical centers in Norway, with some already having been discharged,鈥 Viking Ocean Cruises said.
The company said in a statement that before the ship started being towed to the port of Molde, where it arrived yesterday, 479 passengers had been airlifted to land by helicopters, leaving 436 passengers and 458 crew members onboard.
Passenger Alexus Sheppard said in a message from the Viking Sky that people with injuries or disabilities were winched off the cruise ship first.
The atmosphere onboard grew calmer after the rescue operation鈥檚 first dramatic hours, Sheppard said.
鈥淚t was frightening at first. And when the general alarm sounded it became VERY real,鈥 she wrote.
Photos posted on social media showed the ship rocking from side to side and furniture smashing violently into walls.
鈥淭he last 24 hours have been very, very scary, very frightening,鈥 an American passenger, Rodney Horgen, told Norwegian public broadcaster NRK.
鈥淭he best word I suppose is surreal.鈥
Horgen said he was having lunch at one of the cruise restaurants when the ship started tipping from one side to another.
The motion was strong enough to have 鈥減eople falling over.鈥
鈥淒ishes were all over the place,鈥 he said.
Things had remained, he said, 鈥減retty calm鈥 until the point when suddenly one of Viking Sky鈥檚 large windows broke 鈥渁nd sea water just came rushing in, hitting past tables, chairs and broken glass鈥 and wiping people off their feet.
鈥淚 was standing and my wife was sitting in front of me and all of sudden she was gone.
鈥淚 thought this was it, the water鈥檚 going to rush in,鈥 Horgen said. 鈥淭hings were going through my mind ... Titanic ...
鈥淎 lot of things go through your brain.鈥
Police said the crew, fearing the ship would run aground, anchored in Hustadvika Bay so the evacuations could take place.
A tug boat and two other vessels later assisted the Viking Sky to Molde.
Coast guard official Emil Heggelund said the ship was 100 meters from striking submerged rocks and 900 meters from shore when it stopped and anchored to allow the evacuations.
The ship was visiting the Norwegian cities and towns of Narvik, Alta, Tromso, Bodo and Stavanger before its scheduled arrival tomorrow in the British port of Tilbury.
The passengers mostly were a mix of American, British, Canadian, New Zealand and Australian citizens.
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