Passengers Airlifted From Cruise Ship off Norway Amid Storm
being
grounded on the rocky coast. Rescue workers then launched a high-risk
evacuation of the ship's 1,300 passengers and crew, winching them one by
one up to helicopters as heaving waves tossed the ship from side to
side.
The Norwegian newspaper VG said the Viking Sky cruise ship ran
into propulsion problems as bad weather hit Norway's coastal regions and
the vessel started drifting toward land. Police in the western county
of Moere og Romsdal said the crew, fearing the ship would run aground,
managed to anchor in Hustadsvika Bay, between the western 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. Norwegian media reported
gusts up to 38 knots (43 mph) and waves over 8 meters (26 feet). The
area is known for its rough, frigid waters.
Norwegian public broadcaster NRK said the Viking Sky's evacuation was a slow and dangerous process, as passengers needed to be hoisted from the cruise ship to the five available helicopters one by one. By 6 p.m., some 100 people had been rescued and were being taken to a nearby sports hall.
Second rescue
Later, reports emerged that a cargo ship with nine crew members was in
trouble nearby, and the local Norwegian rescue service diverted two of
the helicopters to that rescue.
Authorities told NRK that a strong storm with high waves was preventing
rescue workers from using lifeboats or other vessels to take passengers
ashore.
``It's a demanding exercise, because [passengers] have to hang in the
air under a helicopter and there's a very, very strong wind,'' witness
Odd Roar Lange told NRK at the site.
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 windows
and water flowed over the feet of some passengers.
According to the cruisemapper.com website, the Viking Sky was on a
12-day trip that began March 14 in the western Norwegian city of Bergen.
The ship was visiting the Norwegian towns and cities of Narvik, Alta,
Tromso, Bodo and Stavanger before its scheduled arrival Tuesday in the
British port of Tilbury on the River Thames.
The Viking Sky, a vessel with gross tonnage of 47,800, was delivered in 2017 to operator Viking Ocean Cruises.
VOA.
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