Eighteen people have been injured after ice from a glacier collapsed onto a Russian cruise liner “Alexey Marushev” off the Svalbard islands in the Arctic. The incident happened around 500 kilometers north of Norway.

Huge pieces of ice are reported to have fallen onto the deck of the ship.

At least 50 passengers and crew were onboard the ship at the time.

Most of the passengers were British tourists.  

Those who were hurt have been taken to hospital, two of them with serious injuries.

Vyacheslav Nikolaev, Russia's consul in Norway, gave more on the issue:

“Norwegian authorities are investigating the case. We are in constant contact with the captain of our ship. The group of those injured has been taken to hospital to a Norway’s administrative centre of Langerbilin, where they are being treated, while a Russian, who has suffered the most serious injuries, Sergey Kutusov and another man have been transferred to the University clinic of Tromse”.