Two killed as freak wave hits cruise ship

The freak wave ˝smashed windows in the lounge area˝ of the Maltese-flagged Greek Cypriot-owned Louis Majesty, a spokesman said.

A massive wave slammed into a cruise ship carrying almost 2,000 people in the Mediterranean Wednesday, leaving two people dead and six injured, Spain's maritime rescue service said.

The freak wave "smashed windows in the lounge area" of the Maltese-flagged Greek Cypriot-owned Louis Majesty, a spokesman for the service told AFP.

He said the accident occurred Wednesday evening off the coast of Spain's northeastern Catalonia region as the vessel was en route for the Italian port of Genoa.

After the accident the captain rerouted the ship to the Spanish port of Barcelona, where it arrived late Wednesday to evacuate the dead and injured.

Police in Greece said one of passengers killed was German and the other was Italian, but gave no further details. They said there were 1,350 passengers and 580 crew on the ship, including the Greek captain.

Spanish news reports said five people slightly injured while a 62-year-old woman was in serious condition with her both her legs broken.

A spokeswoman for the Barcelona port authority said the vessel had set off from Cartagena in southeast Spain earlier Wednesday. She said it would continue to Genoa after evacuating the victims in Barcelona.

The 200-metre-(660-foot)-long, 41,000-tonne Louis Majesty has 732 cabins.