A nightmare Saga Cruises journey that left 100 terrified passengers injured as waves reaching 50ft tall battered the ship is to be investigated by the government.
A probe has been launched into the conditions surrounding the treacherous journey after a storm in the Bay of Biscay on the French coast threw the cruise around and left holidaymakers writing farewell messages in case they were on ‘the next Titanic’. Four people were taken to hospital with eight ambulances waiting for the ship to return to the Portsmouth port after it cancelled its 14-night luxury cruise to the Canary Islands.
The majority of the injuries took place as the ship activated its safety system to veer left and bring the vessel to a sudden halt. Saga Cruises said five people needed treatment on board in the medical area of the ship.
One traumatised woman told The Portsmouth News: “Things were flying everywhere. People were being thrown all over the place. The medics were overrun. My mum saw someone being resuscitated, there were broken bones, people on stretchers and people crying including the crew, who were running around frantically trying to help everyone. It was petrifying.” The unlucky travellers have since been told that at least they will receive all their money back for the ill-fated voyage.
After the incident, a Saga Cruises spokesperson said: “Spirit of Discovery was sadly caught in the challenging weather conditions this weekend, as she started her return to the UK. The ship remained safe at all times but due to the impact of the storm some guests sustained injuries. All were treated immediately by onboard medical staff. While the weather is clearly beyond our control, we want to offer our sincere apologies to all those affected.”
The Department of Transport and the Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) announced the investigation into the Spirit of Discovery voyage. The group, that probes marine accidents involving UK vessels worldwide and all vessels in UK territorial waters, said they are currently making ‘preliminary enquiries’.