100 cruise passengers injured as ship lurches to a halt in storm

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A dream trip turned into a nightmare for the 1,000 passengers on board a cruise ship that was hit in storms, injuring 100.

Saga Cruises' Spirit of Discovery ship was on its final leg of a 14-day European trip, when it was caught in bad weather on Saturday in the Bay of Biscay - part of the Atlantic Ocean, off the west coast of France and north coast of Spain.

The "Canary Island Quintet" cruise, departing from Portsmouth in the UK on October 24, had promised guests "winter sun" on the "sun-kissed archipelago" of the Canary Islands, a Spanish territory off the coast of northwest Africa.

The ship was due to stop over on the island of Madeira, before heading to the Canary islands of La Palma, Tenerife, Lanzarote, Fuerteventura and Gran Canaria. After two days at sea it would then dock at La Coruña in Spain, before arriving back in Portsmouth after another sea day.

Everything went to plan until day 10 - November 2 - when the ship was en route to Gran Canaria, as storms approached. Officers decided to cancel the stop and head straight for La Coruña, in an attempt to get ahead of the weather. But the port closed as the ship was en route, and a decision was made to press on to Portsmouth - a distance of over 600 nautical miles and at least two days' travel - hoping to stay ahead of the storm.

Saga Cruises did not respond to a question on why the ship didn't attempt to dock anywhere else, or turn back, instead of attempting the journey. On the itinerary, there were two "at sea" days between Gran Canaria and La Coruña, and a third from Spain to the UK.