Cruise liner with 1,300 passengers calls MAY DAY as it drifts towards Norwegian coastline in heavy winds

A cruise ship with 1,300 passengers on board has sent out a mayday call after suffering engine failure in heavy winds near Norway.   ...

A cruise ship with 1,300 passengers on board has sent out a mayday call after suffering engine failure in heavy winds near Norway.  

The ship named Viking Sky was drifting towards land when it let out the distress signal.

Helicopters have been evacuating people from the vessel amid high waves and strong winds. 

It was later able to restart one engine and was anchored just over a mile from land and no longer adrift.

Passengers were hoisted up one by one from the deck of the vessel and airlifted to a village located just north of the town of Molde on Norway's west coast.

The stretch, named Hustadvika, is known as one of the most dangerous sections of the Norwegian coast with many shipwrecks in the region.

A spokesperson said: 'If we need to evacuate everyone, it will take a long time.'

The ship, built in 2017, belongs to Viking Ocean Cruises founded by Norwegian billionaire Torstein Hagen. 

According to the company website, its passenger capacity is 930.

Several boats and four helicopters took part in the rescue and facilities to receive passengers have been set up on land.

Wind was blowing at a speed of 38 knots, police told Norwegian newspaper VG.

All search and rescue teams in the region are mobilising, including 60 volunteers from the Norwegian Red Cross, a spokesman said.

Viking's operational headquarters, located in Basel, Switzerland, did not respond when contacted by telephone.