A cruise ship going through a typical lifeboat drill ended in tragedy as five crew members died and three others were injured. According to UPI.com, Sunday, Feb. 10, 2013, a cruise ship docked in Spain saw their lifeboat drill go horribly wrong, as the lifeboat holding eight crew members fell into the ocean.
The eight crew members were sitting in the lifeboat as it was slowly lowered, which was part of the drill, when it suddenly fell 65 to 100 feet into the ocean. Once the boat hit the water it overturned. The boat was filled with about 2,000 passengers at the time of this accident.
The ship was docked at the Port of La Palma while the drill was taking place. Andrew Linington, spokesperson for the trade union Nautilus International, reports that these lifeboat drills are “notoriously dangerous.” The incident was not isolated, as this has happened “so often,” reports Linington.
Linington said that their union has advised that the drills be done without putting people into the boats. He said the death toll from these drills has prompted the union to suggest the process be down without people in the lifeboats.
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