“With great regret, we confirm that the passenger has died following the incident,” the cruise company said in a statement. “We informed her family and offered our deepest condolences.” The four injured passengers were treated on board the ship, by a doctor and medical staff, for non-life-threatening injuries, the company said. The ship itself sustained “limited damage,” according to the statement. “We are investigating the facts surrounding this incident and will offer our support to the relevant authorities,” the company said.
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Our focus remains on the safety and well-being of our guests and crew and we are working directly with them to arrange return trips,” the company concluded. Susie Gooding, who was on the ship when the incident happened, said in an interview that it felt “as if the ship had hit an iceberg. Everything was fine until the wave hit, then it just happened all of a sudden and everything was shocking. We didn’t know if we should prepare our equipment to abandon ship.” Viking said it canceled the ship’s next scheduled departure, the Antarctic Explorer, scheduled to sail from Dec. 5 to 17. The Viking Polaris, a vessel with Luxury facilities, which will be built in 2022 and can accommodate 378 passengers and 256 crew members.