Ten passengers and eight crew members from a luxury cruise have been rescued from a remote uninhabited island off the northern coast of Australia.
Earlier, about 60 other passengers made it to safety after they were forced to abandon zodiac boats grounded off Adele Island about 100 kilometres north of Western Australia.
The passengers and guides from Silversea’s Silver Cloud ship were on an expedition tour near the island in the Indian Ocean on Thursday afternoon when a fast-moving tide caught the group by surprise.
Considered an important bird habitat, Adele Island is 2.9 kilometres long and 1.6 kilometres wide. Its highest point is no more than four metres above the high-water mark, and it is surrounded by kilometres of reefs and sandbanks.
When the tide changed on Thursday, the tourists and crew were suddenly stranded in knee-deep water about four nautical miles (seven kilometres) from the ship.
“What started as a fabulous trip across to Adele Island ended with all 100 odd passengers and staff getting caught by the rapid tide going out and stranding us on the wrong side of the deeper part of the water to get our zodiacs back to the ship,” passenger Mark David Reid wrote on social media.
The group had to wade 500 metres through a coral reef to deeper water. They were met there by a flotilla of zodiac vessels sent from the Silver Cloud to rescue them.
A Royal Caribbean Group spokesperson confirmed the incident, saying a tide change had affected the return of multiple vessels to the ship.
“Some guests experienced injuries, and we immediately provided medical care,” the spokesperson said.
“Everyone is OK and back on board. The safety of our guests and crew is our top priority.”
The Silver Cloud has since set sail for Talbot Bay to continue its 12-day cruise of the Kimberley region.
-with AAP
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