Spectacular rescue of 1,300 passengers on a cruise ship on the Norwegian coast

Helsinki-. A cruise with 1,300 pbadengers and crew on board had engine problems and today sent a distress signal in front of

Norway

, while desperately trying to get stuck on the rocky west coast of the country with a raging sea.

The rescuers undertook high-risk evacuation maneuvers, lifting their occupants one by one with the help of helicopters, while the waves were shaking the ship from one side to the other. other, in strong winds.

The Norwegian VG newspaper said the Viking Sky cruiser had propulsion problems when the weather hit Norwegian coastal areas on Saturday and started heading for the land. Police of Moere County og Romsdal, in western Norway, said the ship had managed to anchor in Hustadsvika Bay, between the towns of Alesund and Trondheim, in order to be able to evacuate the inhabitants.

Rescuers equipped with helicopters and boats came to help with the evacuation of the boat under extremely complicated circumstances.

Norwegian public broadcaster NRK said the evacuation of the Viking Sky cruiser would probably be slow and dangerous, as pbadengers had to climb the five helicopters available one by one. At 6 pm local time (14 in Argentina), about 100 people were saved.

Authorities told NRK that a strong storm accompanied by big waves prevented rescuers from using lifeboats or other boats to transport pbadengers to the coast.

"It's a demanding exercise because they (the pbadengers) have to stand in the air under a helicopter and there are very strong winds," said Witness Odd Roar Lange to NRK.

According to the website cruisemapper.com, the Viking Sky was part of a 12-day tour that began on March 14 in the city of Bergen, in western Norway.

The boat visited the cities of Narvik, Alta, Tromso, Bodo and Stavanger before their scheduled arrival on Tuesday at the British port of Tilbury on the Thames.

The Viking Sky cruise ship, with a gross tonnage of 47,800 tonnes, was delivered to the Viking Ocean Cruises operator in 2017.

AP Agency