On the 24th of last month, about 1,000 tourists over the age of 50 took a cruise ship called "Spirit of Discovery" and set off from the United Kingdom to the Canary Islands to enjoy a 14-day cruise. Ocean journey. （Spirit of Discovery）

In the first 10 days of the journey, everything went smoothly, but when we were about to sail to the last stop, Las Palmas, Spain, due to the deterioration of the weather and the approaching storm, the captain temporarily changed the route and returned to Portsmouth, England early. Unexpectedly, this decision pushed everyone into a more terrifying situation...

Last Saturday, the cruise ship officially returned, but was still blocked by a storm while passing through the rough Bay of Biscay. Waves with a height of more than ten meters hit the boat hard. Hundreds of tourists were injured during this period and wrote their last words in despair. They later called it the most terrifying experience in their lives...

(passed the Bay of Biscay on the return trip)

At present, we can only roughly restore the situation at that time based on interviews with some passengers:

When the storm hit, the cruise ship activated its safety system, causing the hull to suddenly turn sharply to the left. The huge inertia "threw" the passengers out, and many people were injured as a result. Then the cruise ship stopped sailing and stayed there waiting for the weather to improve.

The captain issued an emergency announcement over the radio, telling everyone to stay inside the house, not to move around, and to remain seated or lie down. His voice sounded full of anxiety, and he couldn't hold back his screams when the cruise ship turned. The passengers were not comforted after hearing this, but became even more panicked...

(Waves photographed by passengers)

According to some passengers, the waves they encountered were more than 16 meters tall, which seemed to be higher than three double-decker buses stacked on top of each other. When they hit them, they could directly hit the windows of the fifth-floor cabin, and everyone screamed for help. Run for your life.

A passenger named Alan Grisedale took a video to record the situation at that time. He saw the waves outside the window and the ship swinging violently "like a pendulum":

(Big waves photographed by Alan Grisedale)

All kinds of furniture were staggered, plates and glass were flying everywhere. Passengers were thrown high and fell back to the floor. Many people suffered fractures of varying degrees...

A woman named Lake said she fell backward uncontrollably and hit her head directly on the wall. She couldn't hear anything when she sat up and was later sent back to the room in a wheelchair.

(Indoor tables and chairs are staggered)

The captain and crew will regularly update the situation, inform passengers that they can only stay in their houses for the next two days, and repeatedly assure that "the cruise ship is safe."

However, the real situation does not seem to be as optimistic as they described...

(Books on the bookshelf are scattered all over the floor)

Richard Reynolds, 69, who took his wife and elderly parents on the trip, later described it as one of the most painful experiences he had ever had in his life.

People couldn't help screaming and were in a state of panic. The crew couldn't help crying. There were sounds of objects colliding and breaking all around, like a horror movie.

Because they were afraid that the boat would be capsized by waves, the passengers did not dare to go anywhere for two days and just lay on the bed wearing life jackets. Others simply gave up hope and used their mobile phones to write their final goodbyes to their loved ones.

"The whole experience was horrific. I've been in the military, I've been a firefighter, and I've experienced a lot of trauma on the job, but this was the worst," Reynolds said.

(Passengers on the ship during the storm)

What's even more troublesome is that there are still many injured people on board who are in urgent need of medical treatment.

Reynolds' mother also accidentally fell and was injured when the waves hit. When she went to the medical room to seek help, she found that the place was already crowded with people. The medical staff were so busy, rushing around to take care of everyone, that they later had to convert the restaurant into a temporary first aid area. It is estimated that the true number of injured should be closer to 150 people.

（Spirit of Discovery）

In the following time, everyone waited in despair while enduring the ruthless impact of the waves. Finally, after enduring it for nearly 18 hours, the weather calmed down...

The cruise ship immediately sailed to the UK as planned and arrived at Portmouth Port at around 9 a.m. local time on the 7th.

The survivors of the disaster were finally able to return to land. After disembarking, they saw eight ambulances waiting nearby. It is said that four or five passengers with serious injuries were sent directly to the hospital.

(Ambulance on standby nearby)

After all, the lives of thousands of people were involved. Saga Cruises, which owns the cruise ship, sent an apology letter to each passenger afterwards, promising to announce the details of compensation in the next few days. It also responded to the outside world. However, no matter how you look at it, this rhetoric lacks some sincerity...

The company spokesperson probably means:

The ship encountered bad weather on its way back to England, which was beyond their control.

Some tourists were injured during this period, but most were minor and almost always occurred at the moment the safety system was activated. The medical staff on the ship quickly treated everyone, and the passengers returned safely when the sea calmed down.

There was some damage to some fixtures inside the ship, but it was not serious, and the company insists the ship "remains safe at all times."

(Glass doors and windows smashed in the storm)

This statement was quickly refuted by passenger Reynolds, who felt that the other party was trying to avoid the important issue.

First of all, the term minor injury is inaccurate. His mother clearly saw someone receiving CPR, someone being carried away on a stretcher, and someone being surrounded by three medical staff for resuscitation. How could this be considered a minor injury?

Secondly, it is also wrong to say that the vast majority of people are injured the moment the safety system is activated. Before that, someone had obviously fallen and been injured due to the wind and waves.

It was clear that the cruise company had put passengers in dangerous conditions and now downplayed the consequences. As a passenger, he found it completely unacceptable.

（Spirit of Discovery）

In addition, Reynolds also had doubts about the reason for the ship's sudden return.

The cruise company previously explained that they originally planned to dock at the port of A Coruña in northwest Spain, but were informed on the way that it had been closed due to bad weather, and other routes would face the storm, so they decided to return to the UK via the Bay of Biscay. .

But Reynolds believes that they took the risk of returning just to avoid delaying their next voyage and making money.

He and his family invested 19,000 pounds (approximately RMB 169,539) for this trip, but they ended up in this situation and are currently considering using legal rights to defend their rights.

Other tourists also expressed that they would seek an explanation from the cruise company. After all, no one can accept spending a lot of money on a trip and almost dying.

I hope they can all recover from this horrific experience as soon as possible and receive the compensation they deserve...