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A woman has died and four people have been injured after a “rogue wave” aboard a cruise ship in the Atlantic Ocean.
The Viking Polaris was sailing toward the Argentine resort town of Ushuaia as part of its Antarctic Explorer cruise when the waves hit at 10:40 p.m. local time on Wednesday.
The tour company said the ship suffered “limited damage” and arrived in Ushuaia, 1,926 miles south of Buenos Aires, the next afternoon without any problems.
A spokesman added: “It is with great sadness that we can confirm that a guest has passed away following the incident.
“We have notified the family of the guest and express our deepest sympathies.”
The Associated Press quoted Argentine authorities as saying the passenger was a 62-year-old American woman.
She was hit by broken glass when waves smashed the cabin windows.
Four injured passengers were treated by medical staff on board.
The Vikings are calling it a “rogue wave incident” and have launched an investigation into what happened.
A rogue wave is generally defined as a wave that is twice the effective wave height for the area.
The effective wave height is the average of the top third of the wave – so a rogue wave is much larger than the other waves.
National Geographic cited research scientist Tim Jansen as saying that one of the best examples was the 1995 New Year’s Wave, when a 26-meter wave hit an oil rig in the Norwegian North Sea.
Viking has canceled the ship’s next scheduled departure, Antarctic Explorer, Dec. 5-17, and said it is working with the crew and passengers of the affected cruise ships to help them arrange subsequent trips.
Launched earlier this year, the luxuriously appointed Viking Polaris can accommodate 378 passengers and 256 crew members.
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