Holidaymakers Exposed To Gas On Cruise Ship

Passengers exposed to a deadly gas while on a Princess Cruises cruise liner are one step closer to justice after the cruise firm admitted fault for the suffering caused.

The incident occurred onboard the Sea Princess in 2009. A leak in an air conditioning unit left passengers exposed to hydrogen sulphide and suffering horrific symptoms.

Liz Tetzner, a travel law expert at Irwin Mitchell, is representing the passengers. She has urged the cruise operator to move fast to compensate the victims so that they can put the horrifying ordeal behind them.

Lisa Anne Mills was travelling on the ship with her sister, Jane Anderson, and mother Ethel Mills. They all became severely ill with headaches, sinus pain and sickness.

Lisa said: “Within hours of boarding the ship things started to go horribly wrong. To start with, we were really disappointed with the conditions in our cabins as there was an overpowering smell of rotten eggs coming from the air conditioning unit. But that was just the beginning of the problems, and things soon got much worse.

“After just one night we began to feel horrendously poorly, we had unbearable headaches, and our noses felt like they were going to explode.”

The family visited the ship doctor who diagnosed them with exposure to hydrogen sulphide gas. They were given antiemetics and took painkillers but staff on the ship refused to move the family to another cabin.

Lisa continues: “I was appalled that staff did not find an alternative cabin for us, and that they just fobbed us off and assured us we wouldn’t come to any real harm.

“I feel we were treated appallingly, especially my mother as she had been unwell prior to holiday and the break was supposed to help her recuperate, but instead she felt even worse when we got back and we are all still suffering symptoms today.”

She adds: “We went on the cruise to celebrate my 50th birthday and it is an experience I would rather forget. It was a nightmare from start to finish and what should have been a once in a lifetime trip was a total disaster.

“I am so angry that the ship’s staff ignored our worries, and that we are all still suffering as a result.  I want Princess Cruises to apologise for what they put us through.”

Liz Tetzner said: “The Sea Princess promises passengers ‘refined pleasures and relaxing pursuits’ but in fact our clients were lucky to escape with their lives as hydrogen sulphide is a highly poisonous gas that can be fatal".

“Needless to say exposure to this gas in the confinement of a cabin could have had devastating consequences.”
She continued: “Nothing can change what this family have been through. But Princess Cruises can give them swift and fair compensation for their ordeal so they can begin to move on with their lives.

“The company should also provide assurances that lessons have been learnt from this appalling incident, and that no other passengers will suffer onboard vessels in the Princess Cruises fleet due to inadequate standards of health and safety.”