Interview by Thibaud Hue, edited by Gauthier Delomez
modified to
9:54 p.m., February 16, 2023
A huge Club Med 2 sailboat got stuck in Panama for almost 24 hours, from Wednesday to Thursday. According to the testimony of a passenger that Europe 1 collected, the ship found itself stranded on a sandbar near the coast of the country. If the checks of the state of its hull are in progress, the 316 passengers have begun to worry.
Hundreds of people stuck in a huge sailboat. From Wednesday to Thursday, according to testimony collected by Europe 1, a Club Med 2 type ship found itself stranded on a sandbar near the coast of Panama. If it could be refloated, the boat could not move because the agents on the spot checked the state of the hull. On board, the 316 passengers and 220 crew members waited anxiously for almost 24 hours.
The ship has not moved for 20 hours
“The boat left at 6 p.m., like every day, and a few tens of meters later, it suddenly stopped. We saw on both sides of the boat layers of sand moving”, describes Olivier Thibault, one of the cruise passengers. on board contacted by Europe 1. The passenger says that “people do not understand how such a modern boat could run aground on a sandbank”.
Olivier Thibault points out that he and the other passengers found themselves in an impasse. “If it (the boat) cannot leave, we have no idea what we can do with a plan B. We are far from everything. Above all, which is a little worrying, it is to know if we will be able to leave with the boat or if we will have to evacuate it, which will not be easy”, explains the passenger, relating that it was “impossible to disembark everyone on a desert island. “. Finally, the sailboat was able to leave on Thursday, after more than 20 hours of immobility.