Eleven French tourists and four crew members were rescued by helicopter on Monday evening after their ship ran aground in Norway’s Arctic archipelago, Spitsbergen, local authorities said on Tuesday.
The incident caused no injuries, the governor’s office said in a statement.
For reasons that are still unclear, the tourist ship MS Isbjørn 2 ran aground on Monday evening in a bay of the Isfjord fjord, in that area twice the size of Belgium, a thousand miles from the North Pole.
The 15 occupants were rescued by helicopter and transported to Longyearbyen, the capital of the archipelago, also known as Spitsbergen.
“None of the people on board were physically injured,” the authorities said.
An investigation has been launched to determine the causes of the accident.
MS Isbjørn 2 was towed by another ship and brought back to Longyearbyen.
According to the authorities, no significant hydrocarbon leaks have been detected in this fragile ecosystem, where 65% of the areas are protected.
Tourism, along with scientific research, is one of the pillars of Svalbard’s economy, having long replaced coal mining, which was the main activity.
Before Corona, up to 140,000 people visited the archipelago every year, where fewer than 3,000 people live.