Passengers fear for their lives after cruise ship tilts 45 degrees in freak storm

Terrified passengers thought they would ‘die like on the Titanic’ after their cruise ship was hit by a freak storm which caused it to tilt over to one side.

The Royal Caribbean cruise from Spain to Miami, US last Thursday tilted at a 45 degree angle after being hit by a crosswind, leading to passengers hanging on to walls and desks to avoid falling.

Dan So had just left a pub quiz and was walking through the shopping deck of the cruise ship when he heard ‘screaming and glass smashing’.

His footage of the incident shows a digital advertising board sliding across the floor and hitting another passenger, who pushed it away and grabbed a woman’s hand as they rushed off.

Dan said he ‘thought he would die’ as the ship held its dramatic tilt for ‘around three minutes’ – even sending a goodbye message to work colleagues.

The ship had hit a storm off the coast of Tenerife, Spain, and Royal Carribean say one of the guests was injured.

Another clip shot after the cruise had stabilised shows items at one of the deck’s shops scattered across the floor as one woman appears to be arguing with staff.

Dan, who is founder of tech startup Bookeeping.ai, says it was a ‘huge relief’ when the ordeal was over and believes it’s a sign climate change is impacting sea travel.

The 12-night cruise was forced to make an unplanned stop in Las Palmas, Spain, so the injured guest could receive medical care, but it’s now back on course.

Dan, from Toronto, Canada, said: ‘When I left the pub I could hear screaming sounds, glasses were falling around and the cruise had started tilting.

‘You can see a whole advertisement sign hit a guy and he saves himself and grabs his girlfriend. He was in a state of shock.

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‘I wondered if this was a normal thing but the more I heard people screaming that’s when I got scared and had to turn the video off.

‘It wasn’t the full tilt you see in the video, but around half way. It was like the Titanic.

‘Some people told me to come over to them so we held each other and the chairs around us.

‘I had thought that this could be the end and the ship was going to fall into the water.

‘I took out my phone and sent my colleagues a message that I don’t know what’s going to happen and to take care. I was writing my last message thinking that I would die.

‘Usually waves make the ship wobbly but this was tilting for five minutes on one side. It held its position for around three minutes.

‘When it tilted back it was a big relief and I realised we had survived something big.

‘Watching the video gives me shivers and now I feel like I’ve got a new life because we thought it had gone.’

It’s believed the ship hit a squall, which is a sudden storm often experienced at sea, and its wind tipped the ship.

Dan says he considered cancelling his next cruise, but has enjoyed his trip and now believes he’ll keep the booking.

It was his first time on a cruise, but he spoke to passengers who had been cruising for 30 years and they’d never experienced something similar.

A spokesperson for Royal Caribbean said: ‘During an unexpected wind gust near Tenerife, Spain, one of our sailings experienced sudden movement.

‘One guest was injured and required additional medical care, resulting in the ship calling into Las Palmas, Spain for a medical disembarkation.

‘We communicated these changes directly with our guests.’

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