An American woman was killed and four other passengers injured when a massive wave hit the Viking Polaris cruise ship as the 231-foot-long ship sailed through southern Argentina on an Antarctica cruise, say announced the authorities.
The 62-year-old woman was hit by shards of glass when the wave shattered cabin windows on Tuesday night during a storm as the ship sailed to the port of Ushuaia, Argentine authorities said. The ship suffered limited damage and arrived in Ushuaia, 1,926 miles south of Buenos Aires, the next day.
“It is with great sadness that we confirm that a guest has died as a result of the incident,” Viking said in a statement. “We have notified the guest’s family and shared our deepest condolences.”
Neither the statement nor the Argentine Naval Prefecture identified the woman or her hometown.
Viking called it a “rogue wave incident” and said the injuries to the other four passengers were not life-threatening.
The cruise ship was anchored near Ushuaia, where a federal court opened a case to determine what happened.
The company says on its website that for exploring remote areas of the world, it has “two small, state-of-the-art expedition-class ships: Viking Octantis and Viking Polaris.”
The Viking Polaris, a ship with luxury facilities and built in 2022, has a capacity of 378 passengers and 256 crew members.
