A German cruise ship rescued four fishermen from Norwegian waters after receiving a distress call a day after leaving port en route to Bergen on Norway's southwest coast.
AIDAnova sailed to their reported position in the Skagerrak strait between Norway and Denmark, according to AIDA Cruises. The incident took place on Oct. 18.
"The four fishermen, who were already in a life raft, were safely brought on board unharmed," the cruise line told USA TODAY in an emailed statement. "Following a routine medical examination at the ship's hospital, they were cared for on board and continued the journey to Bergen aboard AIDAnova, which the ship arrived as scheduled on Monday."
The ship departed from Kiel, Germany, for a Norway cruise on Oct. 17, according to CruiseMapper.
Video footage shared on Facebook appears to show rescue boats reach the fishermen while smoke rises from a fishing vessel in the distance and passengers watch from the deck. In one clip, flames are visible near the back of the fishing boat.
The Facebook user who posted the videos did not immediately respond to a request for comment, and AIDA did not share additional details about what led to the rescue.
"We are relieved that all four fishermen are safe and that the rescue operation was successful," the cruise line added. "Our crew is trained for situations like this and immediately took the necessary steps to bring the fishermen safely on board and provide them with appropriate care."
The incident is not the only one of its kind in recent months. A Carnival Cruise Line ship rescued a mariner from a disabled sailing vessel while the cruise ship was traveling to Grenada in August, and an MSC Cruises ship aided a vessel in distress in July while en route to Ibiza.
Nathan Diller is a consumer travel reporter for USA TODAY based in Nashville. You can reach him at ndiller@usatoday.com.
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