US woman killed, 4 others injured as huge wave hits cruise ship

A US woman was killed and four other passengers injured when a huge wave struck the Viking Polaris cruise ship while it was sailing toward the port of Ushuaia in southern Argentina on an Antarctic cruise, authorities said.

The 62-year-old woman was hit by broken glass when the wave broke cabin windows late Tuesday during a storm, Argentine authorities said. The ship suffered minor damage and arrived in Ushuaia, 1,926 miles 3,100 km south of Buenos Aires the next day.

Viking said in a statement that it was with great sadness that a guest passed away after the incident. We have notified the guest family and shared our deepest sympathies. Neither the statement nor the Argentine Naval Prefecture identified the woman or her hometown.

Viking called it a rogue wave incident and said the four other passengers' injuries were non-life threatening.

The cruise ship anchored near Ushuaia, where a federal court has opened a case to determine what happened.

The company stated on its website that to explore remote regions of the world, they have two purpose-built, state-of-the-art small expedition-class ships: Viking Octantis and Viking Polaris. The Viking Polaris, a vessel built in 2022, has capacity for 378 passengers and 256 crew members.