A US woman has passed away when a massive wave crashed into an Antarctic cruise ship during a store.
The ship was sailing off the southern tip of South America when a rogue wave hit the side of the boat, breaking the cabin windows.
“It is with great sadness that we confirmed a guest passed away following the incident. We have notified the guest’s family and shared our deepest sympathies. We will continue to offer our full support to the family in the hours and days ahead,” Viking Cruises said in a statement.
“Four other guests sustained non-life-threatening injuries during the incident and were treated by the ship’s onboard doctor and medical staff.We are investigating the facts surrounding this incident and will offer our support to the relevant authorities. Our focus remains on the safety and wellbeing of our guests and crew, and we are working directly with them to arrange return travel.”
The cruise liner has also decided to cancel future voyages.
“After careful consideration, we have made the difficult decision to cancel the ship’s next scheduled departure, the December 5-17 Antarctic Explorer itinerary; all impacted guests and their travel advisors have been notified directly by Viking Customer Relations,” they wrote.
According to passenger Suzie Gooding, North Caroline, the impact was so hard they thought the ship hit an iceberg.
As of the writing of this post, the American woman killed has not been identified.
Just two weeks ago, during another Antarctic cruise, two men 70 and 80 died after their inflatable zodiac boat overturned.
“We are deeply saddened to confirm that there has been a tragic accident during a zodiac excursion from the ship World Explorer, chartered by Quark Expeditions, near Elephant Island in the Antarctic on November 15,” the polar expedition company wrote.
Four other passengers, along with two staff members, were hurt. The boat appears to have overturned when a wave breaking against the shore flipped the boat.
