Update 3/24/2019 10:00 a.m. EST
The evacuation of the Viking Sky cruise ship ended on Sunday morning with 479 people airlifted off the ship, 20 of which were injured with broken bones, bruises and cuts.
The cruise liner regained engine power on Sunday morning and is traveling to Molde harbor so that the remaining 436 guests and 458 crew members can disembark.
Passenger Jan Terbruegen described conditions on the ship to CNN as travelers waited to be evacuated: “Furniture would slide across the room, slide back and with it came people and glass. It was a very dangerous situation frankly.”
For Beth Clark, being airlifted was a scary experience.
“The guy came down from the helicopter — one of the Coast Guards — snapped my belt and said ‘hold it’ and shot me up about 100 feet in the air and onto the helicopter,” she said.
“I was more terrified of hitting the blades. I didn’t look down, so that was my big fear. Everyone had their different fears, that was mine. But they were awesome, I mean as soon as they hoisted you up, he grabbed me and pulled me in like a sack of potatoes.”
Viking Ocean Cruises’ Viking Sky cruise ship began evacuating 1,300 passengers and crew after sending a mayday call off Norway’s western coast on Saturday.
The Viking Sky was on a 12-day trip that began on March 14 when the cruise ship experienced engine propulsion problems after a bad storm hit Norway’s coastal regions causing high winds and stormy seas.
The ship has anchored in Hustadsvika Bay so that the high-risk helicopter rescue evacuation can take place. High waves are preventing rescue workers from using life boats or other vessels to get passengers to shore.
NEW: First responders are evacuating passengers stuck on a cruise ship off west coast of Norway as video shows rescue boats, helicopters arriving to scene of Viking Sky seen floating adrift in stormy weather after suffering from engine failure Saturday. https://t.co/Hh4uCLhYqW pic.twitter.com/jPbw3V5iBK
— World News Tonight (@ABCWorldNews) March 23, 2019
The evacuation is likely to be slow and dangerous as passengers need to be hoisted from the cruise ship one-by-one to five available helicopters, according to Norwegian public broadcaster, NRK. By 6 p.m. local time, only 100 people had been rescued.
“It’s a demanding exercise, because they (passengers) have to hang in the air under a helicopter and there’s a very, very strong wind,” witness Odd Roar Lange told NRK at the site.
Evacuated passengers are being taken to a sports complex and accommodation is being made for them in local hotels, according to the BBC.
In a statement, Viking Ocean Cruises said, “We can confirm that on March 23rd at 2pm (Norwegian time) the vessel Viking Sky a 47,800-tonne ship travelling from Tromso to Stavanger, carrying 915 guests and 458 crew experienced a loss of engine power off the coast of Norway near Molde. We are working closely with the relevant authorities and all operational procedures were followed in line with international regulations. In addition, Viking has dispatched an operational task force, including the company’s owner, to Molde.”
“Our first priority was for the safety and wellbeing of our passengers and our crew, and in close cooperation with the Norwegian Coast Guard, the captain decided to evacuate all guests from the vessel by helicopter. The ship is proceeding on its own power and a tugboat is on site. The evacuation is proceeding with all necessary caution. A small number of non-life-threatening injuries have been reported. Guests are being accommodated in local hotels when they arrive back on shore, and Viking will arrange for return flights for all guests.”
