A Washington state ferry ran aground Saturday, stranding nearly 600 passengers aboard for hours after a generator on the vessel apparently failed, officials said.
The Walla Walla, a four-engine jumbo class ferry, was en route to Seattle from Bremerton around 4:30 p.m. when the vessel ran aground in Rich Passage near Bainbridge Island, just west of Seattle, officials with Washington State Ferries said.
“When we impacted it felt like an earthquake,” Kyle Bulger, a passenger on board, told FOX13 Seattle. “We shuffled around, it moved everyone around and everyone was confused.”
None of the ferry’s 596 passengers or 15 crew members were injured in the grounding, the U.S. Coast Guard Pacific Northwest said.
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Onlookers watch as vessels assist a ferry that ran aground near Bainbridge Island in Washington state on Saturday. (Washington Department of Ecology)
The Washington Department of Ecology confirmed on Twitter that there was no pollution or hull damage detected.
U.S. Coast Guard Pacific Northwest responded to assist local ferries disembark passengers from the stranded vessel in Rich Passage. (U.S. Coast Guard Pacific Northwest)
Coast Guard crews and tugboats responded to the scene for support while Kitsap Fast Ferry vessels worked to offload the stranded passengers.
As of 10 p.m. local time, all Walla Walla passengers were transported to Bremerton aboard the Kitsap ferry vessels, officials said.
All passengers were offloaded from the Walla Walla by 10 p.m. local time and taken to Bremerton, officials said. (U.S. Coast Guard Pacific Northwest)
“Whew! It was a long night but thank you for hanging in there,” Washington State Ferries said in a tweet.
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Officials were awaiting high tide to attempt to tow the grounded vessel from the shoal water.
Passengers with vehicles still on board the ferry could retrieve their cars at the Bremerton terminal at 9 a.m. Sunday, the department said.
The vessel is believed to have suffered a generator failure, according to officials. An official investigation is set to be conducted to determine the cause of the grounding.
The Walla Walla is 440 feet in length with a draft of 18 feet, with a maximum capacity of 2,000 passengers and 188 vehicles, according to the state’s Department of Transportation website.
