Giant wave kills passenger and injures four on new Viking Polaris cruise ship
A huge wave has smashed into a Viking Ocean Cruises vessel off Argentina, killing one person and injuring four more.
The accident involving the 378-berth Viking Polaris (built 2022) happened on Wednesday off Ushuaia, 3,200 km (nearly 2,000 miles) south of Buenos Aires, and was reported by the company and the Argentinian court system on Thursday.
AFP reported that the wave broke several glass panels on the Antarctic cruise ship as it was sailing south of Cape Horn in the middle of a storm late in the evening.
Viking Polaris is sistership to Viking Octantis, a familiar visitor to the Great Lakes this summer. Viking Polaris is expected to join her in cruising the Great Lakes in 2023.
“It is with great sadness that we confirm that a passenger passed away after the incident. We have notified the guest’s family and shared our deepest condolences,” a Viking source said from Norway. Four other passengers were treated by the ship’s medical personnel but did not have life-threatening injuries.
The damage to the new ship was described as minor, but no further details were given. The Viking Polaris returned to Ushuaia on Wednesday.
Viking said it is investigating what happened and is working with passengers and crew members to organize their return trips.
