Passengers relive 'scary' ordeal after tornado-like winds hit Norway cruise ship
Video showed furniture sliding around inside the ship and debris falling from the ceiling as the ship listed heavily to one side.
Sunday 24 March 2019 23:03, UK
A cruise ship which was evacuated after getting into difficulties in stormy weather has reached port under its own steam.
Hundreds of passengers were airlifted one-by-one to safety after the Viking Sky ship lost engine power off the west coast of Norway on Saturday.
Video posted on social media showed furniture sliding around inside the ship and debris falling from the ceiling as it listed heavily to one side.
Earlier, there were still 436 guests and 458 crew members on board the ship, which originally had about 1,300 passengers and crew on board, including 200 Britons.
Some 479 passengers who were airlifted in high winds are now back on shore with the first due to fly home on Sunday.
Twenty people suffered injuries and have been receiving treatment in Norway, with some already discharged, said operator Viking Cruises.
Police in Moere og Romsdal said the ship's crew had managed to anchor in Hustadvika Bay, amid fears the vessel would run aground.
It has now arrived at the port in Molde, on Norway's west coast, under its own power.
Those who were rescued have spoken of the fear as they were taken on one of the five available helicopters getting them back to land.
Janet Jacob, one of the first passengers saved, told Norwegian public broadcaster NRK: "I was afraid. I've never experienced anything so scary."
She said the winds were "like a tornado" and said she was praying "for the safety of all aboard".
Those on board were hoisted one-by-one from the deck and taken by rescue helicopter to a village just north of Molde.
The waves were 6-8m (20-26ft) high, and the wind blew at 24m per second, the Norwegian Meteorological Institute said.
"It's a demanding exercise, because they (the passengers) have to hang in the air under a helicopter and there's a very, very strong wind," witness Odd Roar Lange told NRK.
The storm was expected to last until at least midnight local time (11pm UK time).
A freighter with a crew of nine was also being evacuated nearby after suffering engine failure too. Two of the five helicopters had to be diverted in order to rescue them before returning to the Viking Sky.
Passengers on the Viking Sky said it was "chaos" as the ship was hit by wind and waves.
"We were having lunch when it began to shake," American John Curry told NRK.
"Window panes were broken and water came in. It was just chaos.
"The trip on the helicopter I would rather forget. It was not fun."
A spokesman for Viking Cruises said: "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."
A spokesman for the Foreign Office said: "We are in touch with Norwegian authorities and stand ready to help any British people who require our assistance."
The cruisemapper.com website said the Viking Sky was on a 12-day trip that began on 14 March in the western Norwegian city of Bergen.
Built in 2017, it belongs to Viking Ocean Cruises - part of the Viking Cruises group founded by Norwegian billionaire Torstein Hagen.
According to the company website its passenger capacity is 930.