"Pure chaos" broke out on a cruise ship on Sunday night after it began listing to one side – but didn’t stop.
The Carnival Sunshine had set off from Port Canaveral in Florida on Sunday evening, but a few hours later it started to tilt.
Terrified passengers began to scream and cry as tables slid across the deck and plates smashed to the ground, the New York Post reported.
Photos posted to Twitter show shattered glass and trays strewn over the ship.
One passenger, David Crews, told News 6 that at first he wasn’t worried, but began to worry when the ship didn’t right itself.
He said: “I didn’t think anything of it, since it’s not uncommon for ships to rock back and forth. But it didn’t rock back. It kept leaning.
“Plates and silverware started sliding off the tables. Then the tables themselves started to slide. Glasses and plates started to fall and shatter. At this point, it was pure chaos. Screams. Cries. Panic.”
Carnival say the ship was leaning for ‘one minute’ and blamed a technical issue.
More than two and a half thousand passengers were on the ship at the time, and some were so traumatised by the event that they reportedly flew home from the Dominican Republic instead of staying on the ship.
Others took to Twitter to talk about the ordeal.
Connie Calvert contacted Carnival directly, saying: "Get me off this ship Carnival Sunshine. We just listed so bad that I am not comfortable being in this shop anymore.
"Water ran out of the pools glasses shattered in my room and drink spilled in my suitcase!”
Another wrote: “Last night was a very scary experience on the Sunshine. The starboard side literally felt like it lifted. I was in the dining room on 3. All the tables slid and fell over, glass falling and breaking. People screaming. And all we get is, ‘It’s being investigated.’”
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In a statement, Carnival blamed the incident on a "technical issue which caused the ship to list for approximately one minute" and apologised for disruption.
They added: "There was never any issue with the safe operation of the ship and our officers quickly intervened to correct the situation.
"The ship remains fully operational and will sail as scheduled on Friday, Nov. 2. We remain confident of the safety of the ship as we are committed to the safety of our guests and crew.”
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