Winds up to 120 km/h and gusty rains covered parts of Spain and Italy
A 330-metre long cruise ship carrying thousands of British tourists collided with an oil tanker at the pier in Palma, Majorca, due to extreme weather there, the BBC reported.
Strong storms battering the Spanish Mediterranean and the Balearic Islands were the cause of the incident, with winds of up to 120km/h tearing the Britannia from its anchor and blowing it straight towards the other machine. According to the company that owns the cruise – P&O Cruises – several people have minor injuries.
“We heard a loud crash, and people rushed inside. Seconds later, another crash was heard and there was chaos,” said Ricky Stubbs, one of the ship’s passengers. “It was clear that some had injuries caused by falls or debris. Minutes later, the captain called over the loudspeaker and asked all guests to return to their rooms until further instructions,” he added.
The Britannia passengers remained on board overnight until the ship anchored and the damage assessed.
“Huge respect to the captain and crew for keeping calm and keeping everyone informed,” Stubbs added, adding that “the captain was making announcements every 10-15 minutes after we got back to our cabins, the whole crew did a great job in this stressful situation.”
“Britannia” has been in operation since 2015 and is worth 550 million euros.
“The ship was involved in a weather-related incident while at the pier in Palma de Mallorca. A small number of people suffered minor injuries and are being treated by the on-board medical center,” a company spokesperson said.
Torrential rain and thunderstorms in Mallorca, which began last weekend, caused downpours and hail, a range of property damage and left more than 4,000 households without power, and more than 120 flights were cancelled.
Similar weather conditions reached the northern parts of Italy. In Lombardy, strong storms uprooted trees and damaged homes, while in Genoa people witnessed some of the strongest thunderstorms in the region’s history.
2023-08-28 19:48:00
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