Passengers aboard the disabled Carnival cruise ship Triumph are struggling with dismal and deteriorating conditions, according to one passenger. The ship is being towed to a port in Alabama after a fire in the engine room left the Triumph disabled in the Gulf of Mexico.
“Elderly and handicap are struggling, the smell is gross,” said passenger Ann Barlow in a text message to ABC News. “Our room is leaking sewage.”
Carnival Cruise Lines president and CEO Gerry Cahill apologized to guests and their families in a news conference Tuesday evening and said the company was working hard to ensure the thousands of passengers and crew were as comfortable as possible.
The engine room fire knocked out the vessel’s four engines Sunday, leaving the ship and roughly 4,200 passengers and crewmembers stranded in the Gulf. Tugboats are now hauling the 900-foot-long ship to Mobile, Ala., where it should arrive Thursday afternoon if weather allows.
A passenger with a pre-existing medical condition was evacuated from the ship as a precautionary measure, according to company spokeswoman Joyce Oliva. Remaining passengers and crew are weathering conditions such as scarce running water, long food lines and no air conditioning.
The company has reserved more than 1,500 hotel rooms in Mobile and New Orleans for passengers upon their arrival in port and more than 20 chartered flights were booked to returnn passengers to Houston after they’ve had a chance to rest. Charter buses are being organized for those who wish to return to Houston and Galveston sooner, the company has said.
The Triumph departed Galveston last Thursday for a Mexican cruise and had been due to return Monday.
The cruise ship injury lawyers at Schechter, Shaffer & Harris, L.L.P., Accident & Injury Lawyers represent cruise vessel crewmembers and passengers who have been injured on cruise ships.
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