Azura to the rescue….

When you book your dream cruise with P&O you are promised many things. Beautiful cabins, amazing food, fantastic service and a memorable holiday. What they don’t mention in the brochure is that you may also be part of a rescue mission to pick up migrants stranded at sea !!

 

Well this is what holidaymakers found themselves involved in last week when the P&O Azura , holding 3000 passengers decided to do a turnaround and take on a rescue mission for 20 migrants stuck on an inflatable dingy.

 

British passengers onboard a P&O cruise liner told how the ship helped to rescue more than 20 migrants on an inflatable dinghy off the Spanish coast.

Around 3,000 passengers were enjoying stunning Mediterranean views as they sailed on the Azura from Cadiz to Barcelona when shouting, whistling and yells for help were heard coming from the water. 

On rushing to the ship’s balcony, they spotted an overcrowded dinghy, which was struggling to stay afloat and its passengers waving manically.

A lifeboat was then sent to pick up its struggling passengers, most of whom were men in their late teens and early 20s.

 

It took in total , from start to finish, 10 hrs for the rescue mission to be complete, and while some customers praised the crew and staff for helping the men and saving their lifes others were less than impressed in the delays it caused and impact it had on their holidays.

 

I have to say i find this quite shocking that cruise passengers would be disgruntled in saving the migrants. Understandably they would have been frustrated, but they could have hardly carried on cruising and just passed on by . Whatever people’s opions are on people making these dangerous attempts to flee their countries, we have a natural human instinct to want to help and save them. Who knows what could have happened to them if the Azura wasnt in their path.

 

Also what a fantastic effort from the captain turning the ship around and being able to get to them, which must be in itself quite a mammoth task – I mean it’s not like doing a U-Turn in your ford focus now is it !!

 

Anyway, i praise the staff and the captain on board the Azura , and if heaven forbidden you ever found yourself lost in the middle of the Ocean lets just hope for somebody as helpful and caring as them to turn up and save you.

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About Me

I have been working in the Travel Industry for 16 years and originally started out in Business travel. After doing this for a while I was given an opportunity to move into the cruising industry and haven't looked back since. I thoroughly enjoy my job and can't think of anything…

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