A Fife holidaymaker has described how a cruise trip turned to hell when she saw coffins being taken off the ship.
Kate Allard (62), of Dysart, was aboard the Thomson Majesty with husband Chris (65) when five crew members were killed during a routine lifeboat drill on February 10, while the ship was docked at La Palma in the Canary Islands.
She said: “When we were at Santa Cruz de la Palma, we stayed on board and took part in activities.
“It came over the tannoy that the crew were doing a lifeboat drill. Later it came over the tannoy that there had been an accident and eight crew members had been hurt, five seriously.
“I was looking out the window and said to Chris: ‘There are two coffins going off the ship.’
“At that point I knew two people had died. It wasn’t until later that they told use five crew members had died.
“It was dreadful. It was awful seeing two coffins going off the ship. But I’m still alive, and there are five young folk with families who are not here to tell the tale.
“What upset me was that although they stopped our cruise, the following Friday they just went and cruised again. It was business as usual, when five people had died.
“One couple we got to know told us it was their first cruise and they wouldn’t cruise again. It was an accident, but it does put you off.”
The eight crew members caught up in the accident were in a lifeboat that was being lowered when it snapped off its cable and plunged into the sea.
A spokeswoman for Thomson Cruises said: “Thomson Cruises extends its deepest sympathies to the families of the five crew members who tragically died following the incident on board the Thomson Majesty on Sunday February 10.
“Following the incident, we made the decision to cancel the remainder of the cruise and customers were offered a full refund, plus a discount off a future cruise.
“However, in response to both crew and customer wishes and to minimise any further disruption, we operated the subsequent cruise programme, which departed on 15 February, as planned.”
She continued: “Safety is Thomson Cruises’ number one priority and we continue to work closely with the relevant authorities to fully investigate this tragic incident.”