Storm behind P&O cruise ship crash destroys hotel pool sending loungers flying
The storm said to have caused the collision between a P&O cruise ship and freight vessel earlier today also wrecked part of a resort on the island of Mallorca.
The strong gales sent loungers flying into the sea and the pool, which was captured on video by British holidaymakers. The video was taken at the Punta del Mar hotel and spa just outside Santa Ponsa on the island during the storm, which may also have caused Britannia to hurtle into another boat in the Balearics, with people on board treated for injuries.
Passengers on board Britannia described "being pushed ashore by tugs whilst confined to our cabins" after the terrifying incident. Another guest on the 5,000 capacity ship said it was 'panic stations' when the horn blew on board the boat after a storm 'suddenly hit' off the coast of Palma in Mallorca after it snapped its moorings.
It was described as a 'hurricane coming through from the sea into the cove" (Wendy Penson)In the latest hotel footage, shared by Wendy and Alan Penson, from Caerphilly, Wales, the resort is left in disarray with sunbeds flying through the air in the wind and into the sea, WalesOnline report. At least a dozen loungers then end up in the pool in the biblical scene.
Wendy said: “It said to expect thunderstorms on the news but we saw the weather change and Alan said ‘start filming’, and we couldn’t believe how quickly it changed. It was just like a hurricane coming through from the sea into the cove. There is a small yacht opposite us and it ripped the sail off that. The Bali beds aren’t light, they’re made of steel, but the storm just took them like they were nothing.
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"I was speaking with someone who works at the hotel and she said when the temperature starts to drop after a period of no rain, this tends to happen. But she said they’ve never known it like this before." Alan added: “The unexpected storm happened at about 10.49am Spanish time. It all happened very quickly, as seen in the video.”
Earlier, strong winds caused the Britannia cruise ship to strike another boat (Public Handout)Passengers on board the cruise ship were left in tears after the crash as tables and chairs were thrown along the decks. The ship will now stay in Palma to allow for a technical assessment. Heavy rain and hail accompanied by strong 55 MPH gusts and the huge £473m ship is currently said to be anchored less than a mile from the shore following the accident.
Another passenger, Mark Beckwith, said the ship docked again in Palma on Sunday afternoon and praised the captain and crew for their efforts in calming passengers. "The captain has and is doing an amazingly calm job with the fantastic crew,” he said. “It's very calm and relaxed onboard now and we are just redocking to collect the passengers who were off the ship for the duration of the incident."
A spokesperson for P&O Cruises said: “We are aware of an incident involving Britannia on Sunday morning while the ship was alongside in Palma de Mallorca. We are working to assess the situation. The captain is keeping all guests updated.”
Passenger Gary McGuinness is on board and told the Mirror of his experience: "Me and my seven-year-old daughter Kasey stepped off the ship to go out for the day. I then saw a wall of water and wind heading towards us down the concrete jetty - it looked like a sort of ferocity that you would be unable to stand up in.
"The large fold out greeting umbrellas on the jetty, shot past into the sea about 80mph. We stepped back into the ship and about 8 seconds later, we broke our moorings. The walk way that we were just stood on, I think fell into the sea. But when you first witnessed it happening it looked, like the ship opposite and the concrete jetty was floating away. But of course we were floating away into a small cargo ship and rocks opposite."
He added: |I didn’t see any injuries myself. The fire brigade on the jetty and the ship itself were running an emergency drill at the time of the incident."
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