A U.S. pistillate died and 4 different passengers were injured erstwhile a monolithic question smashed into an Antarctic cruise vessel during a tempest arsenic it sailed disconnected the southernmost extremity of South America, officials said Friday. The 62-year-old pistillate was deed by breached solid erstwhile the question broke compartment windows precocious Tuesday, Argentine authorities said.
The Viking Polaris cruise vessel was sailing toward Ushuaia successful Argentina — the main starting constituent for expeditions to Antarctica — erstwhile determination was "a rogue question incident," a typical of the Viking cruise institution said successful a statement.
"It is with large sadness that we confirmed a impermanent passed distant pursuing the incident. We person notified the guest's household and shared our deepest sympathies," the connection said.
Neither the Viking connection nor the Argentine Naval Prefecture identified the pistillate oregon her hometown.
In a connection to CBS News, a U.S. State Department spokesperson confirmed the decease and offered condolences to the family.
"We are offering each due consular assistance," the spokesperson said. "Out of respect for the household during this hard time, we person nary further comment."
Four different tourists "sustained non-life-threatening injuries" and were treated onboard, the cruise enactment said.
"We wondered if we deed an iceberg," Suzie Gooding, a rider from North Carolina, told WRAL-TV. "And determination are nary icebergs retired here, but that's however it felt."
Gooding told the presumption that the interaction of the question was "shocking."
"Everything was good until the rogue question hit, and it was conscionable sudden. Shocking," Gooding said. "We didn't cognize if we should get our cogwheel acceptable for abandoning ship."
The vessel suffered insignificant harm and was anchored disconnected Ushuaia, 3,200 kilometers (nearly 2,000 miles) from the superior Buenos Aires, with respective windows smashed connected the side, AFP journalists reported.
Viking said it was "investigating the facts surrounding this incident."
Scientists often notation to rogue waves arsenic utmost tempest waves that surge retired of nowhere, often successful an unpredictable direction, and tin look similar a steep partition of water, up to doubly the size of surrounding waves.
These uncommon slayer waves were erstwhile seen arsenic a story reported by mariners oregon explorers. The polar explorer Ernest Shackleton wrote successful his publication of a "gigantic" freak question helium encountered successful Antarctica successful 1916.
However, scientists person learned much astir them successful caller decades, studying however they look and however to foretell the partition of h2o that tin surge up adjacent successful calm seas.
The Viking Polaris was launched successful 2022 and is the newest vessel successful the company's fleet.
The incidental comes 2 weeks aft 2 tourists died connected different Antarctic cruise. The 2 men, aged 76 and 80, had near the World Explorer vessel for an excursion connected an inflatable zodiac vessel which overturned adjacent the shore.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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