Last Updated: June 27, 2023, 11:29 IST
Videos showed passengers and crew members dodging lounge chairs, umbrellas and other loose items on the cruise ship. (Credits: Twitter)
The passengers were lounging by the pool when the strong winds and heavy rain slammed the Independence of the Seas
Passengers on a Royal Caribbean cruise ship in the United States ran for their lives after the ship was hit by dangerously-high winds which sent deck furniture flying.
The ship, Independence of the Seas, was battered by “a sudden gust of high winds” before its departure on a voyage from Florida to the Bahamas on June 16.
Several videos were posed on social media sites including Twitter showing passengers and crew members dodging lounge chairs, umbrellas and other loose items on the cruise ship and gripping onto walls. A video showed a woman carrying a small child narrowly missing a lounge chair which fell from above.
The passengers were lounging by the pool when the strong winds and heavy rain slammed the 15-deck vessel.
“Instead of telling people to come up to the top deck when we have a severe thunderstorm warning, maybe you should be more worried about your guests and employees and tell them to get inside,” one passenger said in a tweet while sharing the video of the storm.
However, Royal Caribbean said no passenger was seriously hurt in the flash storm. According to meteorologists, the wind speed reached 90-96 kmph during the storm.
“It just turned crazy. It looked like a scene from the movie ‘Twister’ is exactly what I thought, because you see these chairs flying up in the air,” Jenn Stancil told Fox 35 Orlando.
The ship arrived safely at Coco Cay, an island used by Royal Caribbean about 55 miles north of Nassau.
This is my view of Independence of the Seas as she started to get battered by the heavy winds whilst mid-spin attempting to turn around to leave the port. You can see the rain line pushing towards us, and the Indy was completely gone from view due to the rain shortly after this. pic.twitter.com/4SeDSFurJm— Jerry Pike (@JerryPikePhoto) June 16, 2023
The storm is one of the many expected to hit the Florida coast as hurricane season begins in the Atlantic Ocean, which runs from June to November-end.
Tornadoes and thunderstorms hit the US Midwest and South on Sunday, leaving dozens of homes damaged and at least three people dead in Indiana and Arkansas, authorities said on Monday.
A tornado struck an Indiana home, killing a man and injuring his wife, while two people died in Arkansas after a tree fell onto a house, as severe weather rumbled through several central states.
