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Nearly 400 evacuated from distressed Norwegian Viking Sky ferry

More than 1000 people remain on board

Viking Sky ferry EPA-EFE/Frank Einar Vatne

Viking Sky ferry

© EPA-EFE/Frank Einar Vatne

HELSINKI, March 24. Almost 400 people have been evacuated from Norway’s Viking Sky ferry in distress off the country’s More og Romsdal county, the Verdens Gang newspaper said on Sunday.

One of the engines of the Viking Sky ferry, en route from the Arctic city of Tromso to southwestern Norway’s Stavanger, broke down during a storm on Saturday afternoon.

By now a total of 371 people out of nearly 1,400 people on board have been evacuated from the ferry. Three helicopters are involved in the evacuation effort. According to rescuers, the wind is down and the situation onboard is calmer than last night.

The evacuation effort continues although three out of four engines of the ferry were started last night and the vessel began heading towards Molde. Tugboats will soon provide assistance to it.

Most passengers of the ferry are Britons and Americans, and the crew consists of nationals of different countries. The Russian Embassy in Norway reported on its Facebook page that four Russian citizens were members of the cruise ship’s multinational crew.

A total of 17 people have been hurt and are receiving medical assistance. Three of the evacuated passengers have been seriously wounded.

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