HELSINKI (AP) — Norwegian rescue authorities say a freighter has experienced an engine seizure in the same stormy Hustadsvika Bay region off western Norway where hundreds of people are being winched off by helicopter from the ailing Viking Sky cruise ship.
Authorities say they have had to divert two of the five helicopters rescuing 1,300 passengers and crew from the cruise ship to help the Hagland Captain cargo vessel’s crew of nine in the storm.
Both boats are trying to avoid being dashed on the rocky coast. The cruise ship is moored between the western Norwegian cities of Alesund and Trondheim. People are being winched off one by one, with one passenger saying she was terrified as she was buffeted by high winds.
Rescue workers say it will take hours to evacuate all those on the cruise ship.
