About 1,300 passengers and crew are being evacuated Saturday from a cruise ship off the coast of Norway, emergency services have said.
Several vessels and helicopters are taking part in a rescue of passengers from Norway cruise ship Viking Sky after it sent a distress signal due to “engine problems in bad weather”.
News of a cruise ship suffering engine problems first came through at about 14:00 local time on Saturday.
The ship, in rough seas in the Hustadvika area on the western coast of Norway, is working to get more than one engine running, CNN reports.
“If we need to evacuate everyone, it will take a long time,” rescue service spokesperson Einar Knudsen was quoted as saying by Reuters news agency.
Police Chief Tor Andrew Franck, however, said that unfavourable weather conditions meant that “we would prefer to have the passengers at land rather than on board ship.”
It is unclear how many people have been rescued so far, each helicopter can carry between 15 and 20 people.
Nobody has been seriously hurt so far, police said. However, there are reports eight people have suffered minor injuries, BBC reports.
The Viking Sky ship, owned by Viking Ocean Cruises, was built in 2017 and can hold 930 guests, according to the company’s website.
