Passengers Injured As Cruise Ship Collapses Upon Docking

Going on a cruise may seem like a frightening vacation option for those who are scared of being stranded at sea or being onboard a sinking ship.

However, a new fear was unlocked for cruise passengers when a Norwegian Cruise Line ship’s gangway (the walkway that connects the ship to land) suddenly collapsed earlier this week, injuring several guests. The boat was stopped in Panama.

“We have dispatched our CARE Team to Panama City to offer additional support to these guests,” a spokesperson for the cruise line told USA Today, noting that the injured passengers were taken to nearby medical facilities.

The cruise, which is a 21-day-long voyage, started in Seattle and will stop in Miami on November 13. Norwegian did not specify how many cruisegoers were injured or what exactly injuries were sustained.

According to Cruise Critic, the gangway will either connect one main deck of the ship to a cruise terminal or when docking at a port (as this ship did) it will usually be connected on a lower deck bridging the gap between the dock and the ship. It was not made clear where on the ship this specific gangway was connected.

The ship, the Norwegian Encore, is about 1,094 feet long with a 136-foot max beam height. It can hold up to 3,998 guests at a time. It’s the newest ship in the cruise line’s fleet and offers the largest race car track at sea on any ship as well as a complete VR world called Galaxy Pavillion.

Entrepreneur has reached out to Norwegian Cruise Line for further information.

Earlier this year, a different ship, the Norweigan Pearl, collided with a fishing boat during a 7-day trip from Boston to Bermuda in July. No injuries were reported aboard the Pearl.