ZCZC
BFF-19
NORWAY-TOURISM-CRUISE-ACCIDENT
Three of four engines on stricken Norway cruise ship restarted
OSLO, March 24, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – A cruise ship that broke down in rough
seas off the Norwegian coast with some 1,300 passengers and crew on board has
restarted three of its four engines and will be towed to port, emergency
services said Sunday.
“Three of the four engines are now working which means the boat can now
make way on its own,” emergency services spokesman Per Fjeld said.
The Viking Sky lost power and started drifting mid-afternoon Saturday about
two kilometres (1.2 miles) off More og Romsdal in dangerous waters and high
seas, prompting the captain to send out a distress call and trigger a massive
airlift operation.
The airlift was continuing in the early morning, Fjeld said.
Police said 338 of the 1,373 people on board the Viking Sky had so far been
taken off by helicopter.
The vessel is making slow headway at two to three knots (4-5 kilometres) an
hour off the dangerous, rocky coast and a tug will help it towards the port
of Molde, about 500 kilometres northwest of Oslo, officials said.
Police said that 17 people had been taken to hospital.
The passengers are mostly British or American, they added.
BSS/AFP/GMR/1245 hrs