Norwegian cruise ship runs aground in Bermuda; passengers safe

WATCH ABOVE: A cruise ship carrying thousands of people is waiting to be inspected after being stuck for hours off the coast of Bermuda. Norwegian Cruise Line says all passengers and crew are safe. Susan McGinnis reports.

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – Thousands of passengers bound for Boston will spend Tuesday night stuck aboard a Norwegian cruise ship after it ran aground as it tried to depart Bermuda, officials and passengers said.

Small boats, divers and tug boats circled the Norwegian Dawn ship as officials tried to figure out how to solve the situation, according to officials.

An official with Bermuda’s Rescue Coordination Center, speaking on condition of anonymity, told The Associated Press the ship hit the reef near Bermuda’s North Channel. The official, who was not authorized to talk to the media, said there are 2,675 passengers and 1,062 crew members aboard the ship, adding that it is in a stable position.

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Cruise ship passenger Rachel Hansen, from Londonderry, New Hampshire, spoke to the AP by phone and said the captain told everyone that the ship would not move until Wednesday morning. She said the ship was about three miles from Bermuda when it ran aground.

WATCH ABOVE: A passenger aboard the Norwegian Dawn describes the situation on the cruise ship that has run aground in Bermuda.

“We definitely felt it,” she said. “We were in the middle of eating dinner … There was a shudder for maybe 30 seconds to a minute and then there was a sudden stop.”

Hansen said she and her family gathered essential belongings and joined other people who went to the top of the ship to see what had happened.

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“We had crew members running around in a panic, and we felt like we had to panic,” she said, adding that overall, the majority of crew members reacted calmly and quickly.

As the hours went by, she said passengers settled into their evening routine and the ship still held entertainment shows as planned.

Norwegian Cruise Line said in a brief statement that the ship temporarily lost power and its propulsion was affected. Officials said everyone aboard is safe and that the ship has full power. The company did not return a request for additional comment.

The U.S. Coast Guard declined comment and referred calls to authorities in Bermuda.

The Norwegian Dawn offers a seven-day, round-trip cruise to Bermuda, where it spends three days in port.