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Stricken passengers aboard ship to receive more in compensationBy Kaija Wilkinson, Reuters MOBILE, Alabama -- More than 4,220 people on the stricken cruise ship Carnival Triumph faced another night of what some have described as hellish conditions on Wednesday, as the company said it was offering passengers an additional US$500 in compensation for their hardship.
February 15, 2013, 12:04 am TWN The 893-foot (272 meter) vessel has been without propulsion and running on emergency generator power since Sunday, when an engine room fire left it adrift off Mexico's southern Yucatan Peninsula. It is being hauled by tugboats to Mobile, Alabama, where it is due to arrive no later than Thursday. The ship's is operated by Carnival Cruise Lines, the flagship brand of Miami-based Carnival Corp, the global cruise industry giant. Earlier this week, some passengers who contacted relatives and media before their cellphone batteries died reported a horrific situation, saying the ship was awash in raw sewage from overflowing toilets and running short on food and water. Kim McKerreghan told television news network CNN that her husband and young daughter said in a call from aboard the ship on Monday that passengers were being forced to defecate in plastic bags due to a shortage of working toilets and that meals consisted of sandwiches with only condiments or onions. Nick Ware, whose mother is among the Triumph passengers, told the network, “Once the meat for the burgers ran out, they were basically just eating condiment hamburgers. Just, you know, whatever condiments they could get on a bun.” He said some passengers had been instructed to use “red biohazard bags” as makeshift toilets on Monday. |
![]() This U.S. Coast Guard photo obtained on Tuesday, Feb, 12 shows the Coast Guard Cutter Vigorous as it stands by to assist the cruise ship Carnival Triumph in the Gulf of Mexico on ... Enlarge Photo
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