Cruise ship passengers open up about the moment a rogue wave struck vessel ... trends now
Passengers who were onboard a cruise ship where a woman was killed when a rogue wave struck the vessel have opened up about the terrifying experience.
The Viking Polaris was sailing to Ushuaia, Argentina, in the dangerous body of water between South America and Antarctica called the Drake Passage when the massive wave slammed into the side of the vessel.
The Ushuaia Federal Court confirmed the victim as American woman Sheri Zhu, 62. Authorities said she was killed after being struck by glass window panes blown inward by the force of the wave. Four others were injured in the incident.
Numerous passengers onboard the ship at the time said the impact of the wave was so violent they initially thought they had struck an iceberg in the turbulent antarctic waters.
One person has died and four were injured when a massive wave smashed into Viking Polaris ship during a storm as it sailed off the southernmost tip of South America
Broken windows are shown on the cruise ship after the rogue wave crashed into it, with a storm brining rough Antarctic waters
Passenger Beverly Spiker said she heard a 'huge smash' and then the window of her cabin cracked in their frames.
'Clearly something big had happened,' she told ABC News. 'A lot of water came shooting in.'
'Luckily, our windows did hold,' she said, but added that other cabins near them were 'washed out'
Spiker's cousin, Suzie Gooding, was also onboard the boat and said the sea outside was raging violently, and then there was a 'sudden shudder' which caused cabin doors to fly open.
'It was just unbelievable,' Gooding said. 'At the time that it happened, we personally wondered if, you know, we knew that we weren't by any icebergs, but it's like, did we hit an iceberg? It just was so sudden.'
Passenger Tamarah Castaneda said her first fear was also that they'd
