A 'rogue wave' hit a cruise ship, killing a passenger and injuring 4 more: 'We wondered if we hit an iceberg'

  • One passenger died after a "rogue wave" struck a cruise ship sailing for Antarctica.

  • Four others had "non-life-threatening injuries," a spokesperson for Viking said in a press release.

  • Rogue waves are unpredictable, rare, and dangerous.

A "rogue wave" hit a Viking cruise ship heading toward Antarctica — resulting in one passenger dying and four more being injured.

A sudden and large wave hit the cruise ship near Ushuaia, Argentina, on Tuesday at 10:40 p.m. local time — causing slight damage to the Viking Polaris, a 665-foot-long vessel, a Thursday press release from Viking said.

The rogue wave shattered several windows aboard the ship with glass fatally striking a 62-year-old woman, according to CBS. Four other passengers had "non-life-threatening injuries," according to the press release.

"It is with great sadness that we confirmed a guest passed away following the incident. We have notified the guest's family and shared our deepest sympathies," the press release said.

Viking is working to get passengers and crew members back home, the release added. The company has canceled the ship's next departure in the region, scheduled for December 5 through December 17 and called the "Antarctic Explorer," according to the press release.

"We wondered if we hit an iceberg. And there are no icebergs out here, but that's how it felt," Suzie Gooding, a passenger on the ship, told WRAL News. "Everything was fine until the rogue wave hit, and it was just sudden. Shocking."

Rogue waves, also referred to as "freak waves," "killer waves," and "extreme-storm waves," can be unpredictable, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

NOAA said the administration is still researching the exact causes of the waves, but added that rogue waves are both rare and dangerous — sometimes appearing as "walls of water" double the size of the waves in the area.

 

Viking did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

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