Thursday, March 4, 2010

Rogue Waves Kill Two in Mediterranean

Two cruise ship passengers were killed when a 26-foot wave smashed into the Cypriot-owned Louis Majesty off the coast of France yesterday. A statement issued by the Greek coast guard says six other people suffered relatively minor injuries in the incident. It also says the freak "rogue"waves hit the ship near the Mediterranean port of Marseilles, France as the ship was sailing from Barcelona, Spain to Genoa, Italy with 1,350 passengers and 580 crew on board. The victims have been identified only as a German and an Italian man.

Louis Cruise Lines spokesman Michael Maratheftis told Fox News that the ship was hit by three "abnormally high" waves up to 26-ft high that broke glass windows in the vessel's forward section. The ship has safely returned to Barcelona where the injured could be treated in local hospitals.

Operated by Louis Cruise Lines, the 18-year-old Louis Majesty sailed for years as Norwegian Cruise Line's Norwegian Majesty until it was retired from the Norwegian Cruise Line fleet last October.

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