A freak wind storm sent four cruise ship passengers tumbling into the water Thursday when their ship broke loose from a dock in Rockland.
The sudden, suspected microburst or squall line was so intense that the cruise ship American Independence was pulled away from the floats at Rockland’s public landing, damaging pilings. The cruise ship then drifted until it struck the dock at Safe Harbor, damaging the end of the dock.
Four passengers were on a gangway and ended up in the water. Rockland Fire Chief Christopher Whytock said people from the ship rescued the four before the fire department arrived.
The American Independence is 226 feet long and carries 70 passengers.
The storm also caused damage elsewhere in Rockland. One tree fell on a car on Meadow Street in Rockport and the occupants were trapped in the car until Central Maine Power arrived.
There were also reports of a tree that struck and damaged a house.
Central Maine Power reported 651 customers without electricity. The outages, however, did not include customers in Rockland who also are experiencing outages.
The National Weather Service said it has not determined whether a microburst struck the midcoast but said a line of severe thunderstorms affected a swatch of Maine. Heavy rains can bring the strongest winds down to the surface, according to the weather service.
This story appears through a media partnership with Midcoast Villager