Patrick Kennedy is a teacher in St. John’s County who said his parents went on the Viking Sky cruise ship to see the northern lights, but they never made it there.
Kennedy said he received text messages from his dad and stepmom reporting that over 1,000 passengers were on board and stranded.
He said those were some of the scariest moments of his life, and he posted to Facebook that he needed prayers for his parents.
“They encountered snowstorms,” Kennedy said. “I received a text yesterday morning that there was an engine failure and a huge storm.”
Kennedy said text messages from his parents revealed that volunteers from Norway came in big numbers to help rescue passengers with helicopters.
“They had to do military-type helicopter evacuations, so they basically had to lift the one by one,” Kennedy said.
Kennedy said he’s thankful he had so much support from family and friends.
On last check, Kennedy’s parents were staying at a school auditorium. The Red Cross in Norway was there to assist with the rescue.