Cruise Passengers Recall Helicopter Rescues

STAVANGER, Norway (AP) — Rodney Horgen recalled the moment he thought he was facing the end: when a huge wave crashed through the Viking Sky cruise ship's glass doors and swept his wife 30 feet across the floor. Horgen, 62, of Minnesota, was visiting Norway on a dream pilgrimage to his ancestral homeland when the luxury cruise quickly turned into a nightmare. The Viking Sky was carrying 1,373 passengers and crew, going from Norway's Arctic north to the southern city of Stavanger when it had engine trouble along Norway's rough, frigid western coast. Struggling in heavy seas to avoid being dashed on the rocky coast, the ship issued a mayday call Saturday afternoon. Horgan said he knew something was badly amiss when the guests on the heaving ship were summoned to the vessel's muster points. "When the windows and door flew open and the 2 meters (6 feet) of water swept people and tables 20 to 30 feet that was the breaker. I said to myself, 'This is it,'" Horgen told The Associated Press. "I grabbed my wife but I couldn't hold on. And she was thrown across the room. And then she got thrown back again by the wave coming back." Photos posted on social media showed the ship listing from side to side and furniture smashing violently into the ship's walls. The hands and faces of fellow passengers were cut and bleeding from the shattered glass, he said. An experienced fisherman, Horgen said he had never before encountered such rough boating conditions. "I did n...
Source: JEMS: Journal of Emergency Medical Services News - Category: Emergency Medicine Tags: International Major Incidents News Source Type: news