1,300 passengers being evacuated as cruise ship in trouble off Norway

OSLO, March 23 (Xinhua) -- A cruise ship came into trouble in a storm off Norway's western coast Saturday and about 1300 people were being evacuated, local media reported.

The cruise ship Viking Sky had engine problems at Hustadvika, a 19-km long section of coastline in Norway's western county of More og Romsdal, and was being evacuated by helicopter, according to daily newspaper VG.

There was very strong wind and two lifeboats had had to turn around, the report said.

"The situation is still dramatic, but we have normalized it and started the evacuation. Around 100 have been evacuated so far," local police operations manager Tor Andre Franck told VG.

Police had not received reports that there was a danger to life and health, Franck said.

The ship sent out the Mayday signal around 14:00 (1300 GMT), public broadcaster NRK reported.

"There are very high waves and the ship waves strongly. The waves are both 10 and 15 meters wide," local journalist Odd Roar Lange told NRK.

The cruise ship Viking Sky is Norwegian and was built in 2017. According to the website Marine Traffic, the ship was on its way from Norway's northern city of Tromso to its southern city of Stavanger.