The Norwegian-flagged vessel Viking Polaris was bound for Ushuaia in southern Argentina when the unexpected happened. Witnesses on board thought they had hit an iceberg.
A passenger lost his life, and the National Accident Investigation Board has already said it will investigate the incident, which occurred on Nov. 29.
Now, a week after the fatal crash, passengers are talking about the drama that has unfolded.
According to ABC News the deceased is an American woman.
Argentine authorities say she was hit with broken glass when the wave smashed the windows of her cabin, they write Fox News.
Four other guests sustained non-life-threatening injuries and were treated by the ship’s doctor and other medical personnel.
– People couldn’t go out
Tamarah Castaneda, who was aboard the vessel, says ABC News that “if someone had told me we hit an iceberg, I would have believed them”.
– The windows broke. There was a wall of seawater flowing in. Beds were pushed up against doors, so people couldn’t leave their rooms, Castaneda says.
– You don’t expect to have the adventure of a lifetime and never go home, says another ABC News witness.
Beverly Spiker says “a big accident” broke her bedroom window.
– Obviously, something big happened. A lot of water got in, Spiker says ABC News.
He says his window luckily withstood the pressure, but that other rooms on the same side of the ship suffered a much worse fate.
– You clearly felt that something bad had happened, no matter which side of the ship you were on, Spiker tells ABC News.
tv channel Urals interviewed Suzie Gooding while still on board:
– Everything was fine until the monster wave hit – it was so sudden. “We didn’t know if we should prepare to abandon ship,” Gooding said.
– We wondered if we’d hit an iceberg. There are no icebergs out there, but it looked like that, he continues.
It was assumed he was a scoundrel
According to Fox News, the vessel passed through an area between South America and Antarctica. An area known for its rough waters.
In the American media, the wave that hit Viking Polaris is referred to as a so-called “red wave”, in Norwegian, by the way, called the “monstrous wave”.
The Norwegian Academy of Sciences (DNVA) refers to such waves as “unexpectedly large compared to surrounding waves”.
– Such waves have long been thought to be errors of observation or
skipperskrøner, writes DNVA on its website.
Second American National Ocean Service such waves are twice as large as the surrounding waves. These are very unpredictable and often come in different directions than the direction the wind is blowing and hit other waves.
In an article by National Geographic says researcher Tim Janssen that one of the best examples of a monster wave is the wave that hit the Draupner oil platform in the North Sea in 1995. This wave was almost 26 meters high.
Great pain
– It is with great sadness that we can confirm that one guest has passed away as a result of the accident. We have notified the host’s family and expressed our deepest condolences. We will continue to offer our full support to the family, Viking Cruises spokesman Jon Mørland told VG after the accident.
– The vessel sustained limited damage and arrived at the port of Ushuaia without further incidents on Wednesday, November 30, afternoon local time, Mørland said.
The ship is 205 meters long and 23.5 meters wide, specially designed and developed for expeditions to Antarctica and the Great Lakes of North America.
The ship has room for 378 guests in 189 cabins, writes Skipsrevyen.
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