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Finnish cruise ship evacuated after running aground in Baltic sea
STOCKHOLM, Sept 20, 2020 (BSS/AFP) – A Finnish passenger cruise ship ran
aground off the island of Aland in the Baltic Sea, the cruise line said
Sunday, with emergency services adding they were preparing to evacuate the
vessel.
The ship was headed towards Stockholm from Turku in Finland and ran aground
around 12:50 am local time (0950 GMT) outside the city of Mariehamn on the
autonomous Finnish island of Aland near the Swedish coast.
“There are no personal injuries and no one’s life is in danger, and the
situation aboard is stable,” Eleonora Hansi, head of information for Viking
Line Scandinavia, told AFP.
The ship, Amorella, is 169 metres long and does daily trips between
Stockholm in Sweden and Turku in Finland.
Normally it carries between 1,800 and 2,000 passengers but due to the
pandemic the number was heavily reduced, Hansi said.
“There are about 200 passengers and about 80 crew members onboard,” Hansi
said.
Local media reported that passengers had gathered on deck and were wearing
life jackets.
Finnish maritime rescue services said on Twitter that the ship had moved
closer to shore after the hit to “beach itself and stabilise the situation.”
“Amorella stands firmly on the bottom. The 281 people onboard are in not in
immediate danger but the captain has decided that all extra people be
evacuated from the ship,” the West Finland Coast Guard said.
BSS/AFP/ARS/1849 hrs