In the Norwegian Sea, a rescue operation is being completed, during which almost 500 people were evacuated to shore from a Viking Sky cruise liner, which lost its course the day before during a scheduled voyage. According to the latest data, 479 of 1373 people on board the ship managed to deliver to the coast.
“The evacuation of passengers is over, there are 436 guests and 458 crew members on board. 479 passengers who were taken by helicopter from the ship are now on the shore, ”said Viking Ocean Cruises, which owns the ship in distress.
The distress signal from the liner, which made the transition from Tromsø to Stavanger, arrived on Saturday afternoon, March 23, at about 14:00 local time (12:00 Moscow time). According to reports, the cause of the failure of the engines during a storm, because of which the ship began to drift towards the coast near Molde.
The crew managed to anchor and stop when there was less than 100 meters to shallow water, and about 900 meters to the coast.
Later, the sailors launched one of the failed engines and began to move to the open sea. In this situation, the captain of the ship decided to evacuate the people on board. A total of 1,373 people were aboard the Viking Sky. It is reported that there are no Russians among 915 passengers of the cruise liner, however, four Russian citizens are part of the ship’s crew.
“According to the United Coordination Center (BCC) for search and rescue operations in Southern Norway, evacuation is underway (there are no citizens among the passengers, 4 crew members are Russians). We are in contact with the BCC for possible assistance to compatriots, ”the Russian Embassy in Norway said.
The rescue operation was complicated by a strong storm, because of which the crew could not launch boats into the water. Thus, to bring people to shore accounted for helicopters.
“Three helicopters flew to the state of emergency. The police organized a camp for receiving evacuees on land, "- quoted the edition of the VG representative of the police Tour Andre Franck.
“It will take time, but this is the only possibility in the conditions of eight-meter waves,” added Frank.
Passengers were lifted one by one to the helicopters, but each car can take on board no more than 15 people at a time. Therefore, evacuation took place rather slowly: by nighttime, 166 people were taken to the shore, and at the end of the air operation, 479 passengers.
All this time, there were three ships in the state of emergency - the search and rescue vessel Ocean Response, the sea tug Normand Ranger and the small tug Vivax. Because of the stormy weather, Viking Sky was not able to help, but later the specialists managed to restore the work of three of the four engines, and the cruise liner, under its own power, accompanied by support ships set off for Molde port.
Helicopter video from the evacuation of 1,300 passengers from the Viking Sky cruise ship off the coast of Norway. It has been anchored two kilometers from land. https://t.co/tUBm6A04pNpic.twitter.com/BzRDcX9fuJ
- Breaking Aviation News (@breakingavnews) March 23, 2019By the way, the incident in the Norwegian Sea occurred with the newest ship. The 14-deck ship was built in 2016 at the Italian shipyard Fincantieri and set sail on its first voyage in February 2017. The length of the ship, owned by Viking Cruises, is about 230 meters, and the maximum width - 34 meters.
According to the representative of the United Center for the coordination of search and rescue operations in Southern Norway Borghild Eldöen, most of the passengers of the ship are Americans and British.
Some Viking Sky passengers shared photos and videos of what is happening on board the ship. From the published frames, it can be seen that the incident area was severely stormy, and people could get damaged due to the fall of ceiling elements, as well as the chaotic movement of unfixed furniture and other objects.
At the moment, at least 20 victims are known who were taken to Norwegian hospitals with bruises, cuts and fractures. It is reported that three of them received serious injuries.
Since last night in Molde, there is a Norwegian billionaire and owner of Viking Cruises Thorstein Hagen, according to whom the crew of the cruise liner includes citizens of 45 countries. The captain of the ship is Finn.
“Evacuation is carried out with an emphasis on the safety of all participants in the situation. Unfortunately, we were informed that several guests were injured, but they should not be life threatening. Upon arrival at the beach, guests are taken to nearby hotels, ”Hagen said.
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According to the interlocutors of the Norwegian edition VG, the incident occurred in the area of Khustadvika, which is considered to be one of the most dangerous for navigation sections of the coast of Norway, especially in bad weather. This is due to the complex coastline, many reefs and shoals.
“Justadvika is a ship graveyard. Many boats sank there or suffered significant damage, ”said Captain Olaf Magne Strömsholm, who has been working in the area for more than 25 years.
According to him, the liner crew and its passengers were very lucky that they managed to stop in time, and then start the engines and lead the ship out of dangerous waters.