The Maltese-flagged Greek Cypriot-owned Louis Majesty cruise is docked at Barcelona's harbour on Wednesday. A massive wave slammed into the Louis Majesty cruise ship carrying almost 2,000 people in the Mediterranean, leaving two people dead and six injured, Spain's maritime rescue service said. The freak wave "smashed windows in the lounge area" , a spokesman for the service told AFP. Photograph by: LLUIS GENE, AFP/Getty Images)
BARCELONA, Spain - Two people were killed and 14 injured when massive waves slammed into a cruise ship carrying some 2,000 people in the western Mediterranean Wednesday, the ship's owners said.
The freak waves smashed windows in the Louis Majesty, the ship's Cypriot owners, Louis Cruises, said in a statement.
"Louis Cruises regrets to announce that its Maltese-flagged cruise ship, MV Louis Majesty, while sailing from Barcelona to Genoa was hit by abnormal waves.
"As a result, the windows in a public area on deck 5 on the forward part of the vessel smashed resulting in the fatal injury of two passengers of German and Italian nationality while 14 more passengers suffered light injuries."
"The vessels medical team is already providing all possible care to the injured passengers," Louis Cruises said in the statement, released in Cyprus.
Spanish news reports said one of the injured was a 62-year-old woman who was in serious condition with both her legs broken.
The captain rerouted the ship to the Spanish port of Barcelona, where it docked late Wednesday.
Spanish police coordoned off the port area, where several ambulances were waiting to evacuate the dead and injured.
"Louis Cruises extends its sincere condolences to the families of the two victims and its full support to the injured passengers while expressing its deep sorrow for the incident," the statement said.
"The ship was on a 12-day cruise from the ports of Genoa and Marseilles in the western Mediterranean calling at Tangiers, Casablanca, Tenerife, Lanzarote, Cadiz, Cartagena, Barcelona and was due to return to Genoa tomorrow March 4th 2010.
"She is carrying 1,350 passengers and 580 crew members."
A spokeswoman for the Barcelona port authority said the vessel would continue to Genoa after evacuating the victims.
The 200-metre-(660-foot)-long, 41,000-tonne Louis Majesty has 732 cabins.
In February 2005, several people on board a Bahamas-registered cruise ship carrying around 750 people were injured when it broke down during a heavy storm in the Mediterranean.
© Copyright (c) The Vancouver Sun
The ''Louis Majesty'' in 2007 

Two passengers on a Mediterranean cruise ship were killed by a rogue wave on Wednesday. The incident occurred off the north-east coast of Spain. The ship, named the ''Louis Majesty'', had left from Barcelona, Spain and was headed for Genoa, Italy.  

The giant wave broke the windows on deck five of the ship, resulting in two fatalities as well as another fourteen injuries. The two victims were German and Italian citizens. Following the incident, the ship returned to Barcelona. The ship, carrying over 1300 passengers, is expected to continue its journey after the injured are moved from the ship for treatment.

According to French officials, there had been no previous trouble with the ship. The waves were believed to have been 26 feet (8 meters) high. The ship is 660 feet (200 meters) long, and had 732 cabins onboard.