Nearly a hundred individuals sustained minor injuries on Saturday when the Spirit of Discovery, a Saga Cruises ship, encountered turbulent waters in the Bay of Biscay off the UK coast. The ship’s automatic safety features were triggered, causing a significant tilt and eventual halt, as reported by BBC.
A representative from Saga Cruises confirmed to the news agency that the ship safely docked in Portsmouth on Monday. During the ordeal, approximately 100 passengers experienced minor injuries, and five of these individuals needed hospitalization upon reaching shore.
Originally, the Spirit of Discovery had set sail on October 24 for a 14-day journey to the Canary Islands with about 1,000 passengers. However, the crew decided to reverse course and return to the UK following the incident.
However, one passenger described the circumstances as critical to the BBC. Another passenger recounted that individuals "feared for their lives."
A passenger on board the Saga cruise ship that was battered by storms as it crossed the Bay of Biscay has revealed people on board were screaming for their lives as 30ft waves battered the windows.
The Spirit of Discovery departed Britain on October 24 pic.twitter.com/oG29XDMd5D
— MassiVeMaC (@SchengenStory) November 7, 2023
The same passenger expressed discontent with the official statements, stating, "To say 'minor injuries' is an insult to the many horrific broken bones, pelvises, lacerations, stitches etc. that were caused [to] a very old passenger clientele," and disclosed, "People were writing texts to their loved ones in case we capsized."
"The tone of voice in our captain... he was physically scared. We had crew crying. We had many passengers in awful states of fear," added the passenger, highlighting the intense atmosphere onboard.
Jan Bendall, another passenger, recounted to the BBC how the captain advised over the intercom for passengers to "remain seated or lie down."
In addition, Emma Danbury shared a video with Fox News Digital, captured from her cabin, which vividly showed the waves impacting the vessel.
Bendall recounted a harrowing experience, noting that for approximately 15 hours the vessel was immobilized by the storm, during which she and her spouse were "holding on for dear life."
She further mentioned that a section of the dining area had to be repurposed into a "makeshift medical area." Bendall also noted that for a time on Saturday and throughout Sunday, the passengers were instructed to stay in their staterooms.
Alan Grisedale, another passenger, vividly described the chaos inside the ship, saying "tables were flying" and waves were "throwing people around all up and down the place."
Responding to the incident, Saga told the BBC that the internal damage to the ship was "very limited" and assured that the ship "remained safe at all times."
