Three Saturday morning sailors had a lucky escape after their small boat collided and sank after it crashed into a cruise ship whilst sailing in the Stockholm archipelago.
The incident unfolded just before midday when the little vessel smacked into the Viking Line cruiser, which was en route to Finland. The cruise ship Grace had left Stockholm earlier in the morning carrying 1,827 passengers onboard.
Emergency services were quickly on the scene and locals from the island of Marö assisted with the rescue. Three people, two men and a woman, were retrieved from the water and treated for shock.
"Three people ended up in the water and the boat sank," Stefan Johansson of the rescue services told the TT news agency.
Eyewitness Sara Eklund said foggy conditions likely contributed to the accident and described the trio's survival as "miraculous." She estimated that the incident took place 200 metres away from the shore.
"They must have missed the boat and drove straight into the Finnish ferry. It's a pretty big boat. They sunk and all went in at once," she told TT.
A member of the coastguard services paid tribute to the quick-thinking locals who sped to the scene in their own boats to help, describing them as "heroes" said Rickard Rundgren Björk.
The three rescued individuals were brought onto the island of Marö where they were given dry clothes and treated for shock. Rundgren Björk added that they subsequently went to hospital for further treatment.
The incident temporarily delayed the cruise ship which was heading to Åbo via Mariehamm but it resumed its course shortly after the drama.
"We are of course very glad that these people survived. They really had guardian angels with them," Helena Kneck, communications officer for Viking Line Sweden, told TT.
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