Six people have been injured after two massive cruise liners collided off the eastern coast of Mexico.
The ships smashed into each other during apparent rough sea conditions close to the resort port of Cozumel.
Dramatic footage of the clash showed one liner crumpling into the second, wiping out railings, windows and interiors.
“Oh my God, look at that ship!” an onlooker can he heard saying in the video posted to social media. “Oh, s***.”
Both boats belonged to Carnival Corp, the world’s largest cruise operator.
The company said that one ship, the 3,000-passenger Carnival Glory, was moving into port when it clashed with the Carnival Legend, which can hold 2,000 travellers.
“Carnival Glory was manoeuvring to dock when it made contact with Carnival Legend which was already alongside,” a spokesperson said in a statement. “We are assessing the damage but there are no issues that impact the seaworthiness of either ship.”
It added that neither boat's itineraries were affected following the incident at 8.30am local time on Friday.
Civil protection authorities in Cozumel said officials were investigating.
Passenger Jordan Moseley told the Reuters news agency he was eating breakfast on the Carnival Legend when he felt the crash.
“All of a sudden we felt the ship rock to one side and then back into place,” he said. “A few minutes later, the cruise director announced that the Carnival Glory had crashed into our ship while docking due to the high winds and rough ocean conditions in Cozumel.”
