Cruise horror

last updated 8 January 2015

Saint-Nazaire, France

Fifteen people died this week, and dozens were hurt, when the gangway of the luxury ship Queen Mary 2 collapsed, sending them plunging 50 feet to a concrete floor. The collapse occurred during an onboard visit for family members of the construction crew adding the finishing touches to the new ocean liner. Several of the dead were children. Emergency workers said the gangway was a temporary wooden structure that had been built specifically for the family tour. Two of the dead, Charlene Rio and Celine Duchesne, both 20, had just landed jobs on the Queen Mary 2, which will be the world’s largest passenger ship. “This was their first and last day of work,” said a friend. “They didn’t ever even set foot on the boat.”