The
ship's owner and operator,
Louis Cruise Lines,
said the vessel was struck
Wednesday by three
"abnormally high" waves more
than 33 feet (10 meters)
high that broke glass
windshields in the forward
section on deck five, which
is one of 10 used by
passengers. Two people died
and 14 were slightly hurt,
the company said.
Large waves are not rare in the Mediterranean, but ones that size occur only once or twice a year, said Marta de Alfonso, an oceanographer with the Spanish government.
This accident happened in an area of the Mediterranean called the Gulf of Lyon, which is known for big waves when storms hit. The three waves that struck the Cypriot-owned ship Wednesday off the coast of northeast Spain. The vessel was carrying 1,350 passengers and 580 crew members, from a total of 27 countries.
Louis Cruise Lines spokesman Michael Maratheftis said 14 passengers who suffered only minor injuries were taken to hospital as a precaution.
Arrangements have been made to fly all passengers home Thursday and the ship will carry on with its normal schedule later this month after repairs are completed, he told the AP from Cyprus. By the end of the day most will have left the ship.
Maratheftis said the two dead passengers — a German and an Italian — suffered fatal injuries from the glass shards and ripped-out window frames and furniture.
"It was three waves, one after the other. The damage was done by the second and the third waves. We are talking about waves that exceeded 10 meters in height. This was unforeseen and unpredicted because the weather was not really that bad," Maratheftis said.
De Alfonso said there was in fact a big storm in the area at the time and the waves might have been stirred up by fierce winds. Waves often come in threes, she said.