A passenger on an Antarctica cruise died when the ship he was on was hit by a “monstrous wave”. Four other passengers were injured.
The passengers were taking a cruise to Antarctica aboard the Viking Polaris when it was hit by the storm late Tuesday night on its way to Ushuaia in far southern Argentina. The storm created a giant wave that broke several windows on the cruise ship. An American woman was hit by glass and did not survive.
This was confirmed by Viking Cruises in a statement released today declaration that the vessel was hit by a “monstrous wave” – a type of wave that the US National Ocean Service describes as “greater than twice the surrounding swell”. Such waves, which often appear unpredictable, also pose a threat to large ships.
“We are very saddened that a guest has died as a result of the accident,” Viking Cruises said, without disclosing the passenger’s name or nationality. The Argentine state news agency Telam writes that the dead passenger was an American woman who was “hit by a glass surface that collapsed in the middle of the storm”.
“limited damage”
“Four other guests suffered non-life-threatening injuries during the incident and were treated by the ship’s physician and ship’s medical personnel,” Viking said. The 200m vessel – built this year, with room for fewer than 400 passengers – arrived in Argentina on Wednesday and suffered “limited damage” from the crash.
The cruise line is investigating. Viking Polaris’ next voyage, scheduled for December 5-17, has been cancelled.
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