Posted on 08/09/2007 10:06:54 AM PDT by NormsRevenge
OSLO (Reuters) - A chunk of an Arctic glacier broke into the sea and triggered a huge wave that injured 18 people on a sightseeing boat, almost all of them British tourists, Norwegian officials said on Thursday.
Four people were seriously hurt in the accident by Hornbreen glacier on the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard and were flown south to a hospital in Tromsoe on the mainland. The others were treated at a local hospital, mostly for minor injuries.
"The glacier calved (split off) and a big wave washed over the boat," Elisabeth Bjoerge Loevold, acting governor of Svalbard, told Reuters. "The boat rocked back and forth and passengers fell on the deck."
"We believe there was no ice from the glacier directly on to the deck but we don't have all the details," she said. Some Norwegian media reports had earlier said the boat was showered with ice from the glacier.
The small cruise vessel, the Alexey Maryshev, was carrying about 50 British tourists and a crew of 20 Russians.
Loevold said 17 of those injured in the accident late on Wednesday were believed to be British and the other a Russian crew member, who was among those seriously hurt.
Boats are meant to stay clear of glaciers around Svalbard, which is about 1,000 km (600 miles) from the North Pole, in case chunks fall off. But there are no fixed rules for how far is safe.
"The captain and the expedition leader will be questioned about it by the police," Loevold said.
Glaciers naturally break apart as they slide downhill but many are shrinking more quickly than usual because of global warming, blamed by almost all scientists on human emissions of greenhouse gases from fossil fuels.
The Russian cruise ship Alexej Maryshev, which was hit by large pieces of ice from a glacier in the Hornsund fjord on August 8, 2007, is seen in this undated file photo. Those hurt in the incident have been hospitalised in northern Norway. (Governor of Svalbard/Handout/Scanpix/Reuters)
I hope the Captain wasn’t tootin’ his horn..
‘Global Warming’ makes glaciers real sensitive, yaknow.
[sarc]
Reuters had to get that in.
Sigh....
Everytime I get Mrs Badeye warmed up to a cruise, something like this pops up in the news. If its not a glacier ‘calving’ and causing damange to the ship, its a murder unsolved, a story about bad/contaminated food, ‘pirates’...or they rerun one of the Poesidon movies.
Sheesh....I just want to go to sea ONE TIME without an AIRPORT on the roof!
(chuckle)
Check out the rope swing over the pool.
Honey! There's an airport on our roof!
We’re doing a Panama Canal cruise next year, the only ice your wife would see there is in the bars and dining room when they have ice carvings on display. ;-)
Definitely read the title as “Terrorists hurt by giant wave...” and was like...COOL!
probably a passengers and crew hot tub too,,..
Cruise ship?? Looks more like a freighter to this landlubber's eye.
(chuckle)
I’ve seen much much worse, unfortunately.
We’re doing a Panama Canal cruise next year, the only ice your wife would see there is in the bars and dining room when they have ice carvings on display. ;-)
she’d worry about getting murdered, tossed overboard, bad food, ‘pirates’....luv her to death, but she’s got a reason ‘why not’ for every occasion regarding a cruise trip.
Enjoy your cruise, btw.
I used to go rock climbing in an area of Pennsylvania that had really terrific stacks of big rocks and ravines with water falls. It was all made by glaciers thousands of years ago. But thanks to primitive mammals driving around in their SUVs, they all melted and broke apart.
Not only was that statement a gratuitous dig for globull warming, it is WRONG!
Glaciers calve because they are GROWING and the weight extends beyond their land support, NOT SHRINKING!!!
I wish just once they would get it right!
‘Glaciers calve because they are GROWING and the weight extends beyond their land support, NOT SHRINKING!!!’
Shhhh, their on a roll....
(Paraphrase from Animal House)
Did somebody say, "Shrinkage?"
Did somebody say, “Shrinkage?”
Never to me....(chuckle)
Almost all, except all the ones who disagree.
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