Rescue from distress: Wrecked "Viking Sky" reaches safe harbor

For those remaining on board the cruise ship "Viking Sky" passengers no longer pose a direct threat from the heavy seas. Accompanied by several tugs, the ship has reached calmer waters. Pictures of Norwegian television show the 227 meter long ship near the quay of the city of Molde.

Previously, dramatic scenes on the high seas had played: The ship with 1373 people on board the "VikingSky" had come on Saturday in a dangerous sea area off the west coast of Norway in distress. With helicopters 460 passengers were brought ashore.

The ship was on its way from Tromsø in Northern Norway to Stavanger in the south, when it sent an emergency call because of an engine failure. The area Hustadvika is considered dangerous because there are many small islands and reefs. In strong wind and waves the ship drifted towards the coast.

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Alexus Sheppard

After a short time, however, the crew managed to restart one of the four engines, eject the anchor and stabilize the ship two kilometers off the coast. Then a spectacular rescue operation for hundreds of passengers started: They were pulled up individually in helicopters.

TV pictures showed the huge white ship in the churning sea while helicopters circled in the air. However, the rescue operation was slow. By Sunday morning, 460 of the 1373 people on board were brought ashore, according to the rescue workers.

For the rescued, an emergency room was set up in a gym on the coast. 17 of them were taken to the hospital. Three of the injured, one of whom is over 90 years old and the other two are over 70, reportedly suffered severe fractures.

On Sunday, then worked three of the four engines of the "Viking Sky" again, as a spokesman for the forces announced. The ship was able to drive with its own strength and took accompanied by tractors heading for the port of Molde about 80 kilometers away. The rescue operation was stopped for the time being.

EU: Viking Sky cruise ship running aground off Norway | March 23 2019 | Bloomberg | Alexus Sheppard https://t.co/pNeMuyP36k pic.twitter.com/zGyyeOXDk5

Passengers released footage from the interior of the ship in online networks. You can see armchairs, tables and potted plants sliding across the floor in the heavily swaying ship. Other videos show passengers with life jackets waiting to be evacuated.

"I have never experienced anything so scary," said passenger Janet Jacob after her rescue. "I prayed for the safety of all people aboard," she said on Norwegian television. The flight by helicopter had been terrible: "The wind was like a tornado."

Passenger Rodney Horgan said the situation reminded him of the "Titanic". "The best word for it is, I think, surrealistic," he said. By meter-high waves, water had penetrated the ship, which had torn tables, chairs and people. "I confessed, my wife was sitting in front of me and suddenly she was gone, I thought: This is the end."

Here's my 83 year old dad being airlifted from the #vikingsky We are all off the ship safely! pic.twitter.com/FCToSn4L16

Passenger Ryan Flynn posted a video on Twitter showing his 83-year-old father being pulled into a helicopter. "We left the ship safely," he said.

The "Viking Sky" is operated since 2017 by the Norwegian shipping company Viking Ocean Cruises. The passengers came from 18 countries, most from the United Kingdom and the United States.

In the approximately 20 kilometers long Hustadvika there were already several shipwrecks. Even the Vikings had avoided the area and instead carried their boats ashore from fjord to fjord.