Ship passengers take train home
Updated on 09 July 2009
More than 100 passengers from a ship at the centre of a virus outbreak chose to make their journey home by train.
But hundreds more people have chosen to stay on board the Marco Polo and sail to the south of England.
The ship has been berthed in Invergordon, Easter Ross, since Monday after just under 400 people caught a vomiting bug.
Its round-Britain cruise was halted earlier this week and passengers were given the option of staying on board or leaving on a specially-chartered train from Inverness.
Simon Pielow, the managing director of Train Chartering, said everybody on board the train was "extremely well".
He said: "It's gone extremely smoothly. We were alerted to a request for a train with 700 seats on Tuesday afternoon and we provided that."
Passengers and crew showing symptoms of norovirus have been treated on board the ship.
Transocean Tours, of Bremen, Germany, said the decision for the ship to terminate its 10-night cruise a few days into the trip was taken after it consulted NHS Highland.
Those passengers who doctors think should not travel will remain on board for continued nursing and will be sent home once recovered.
NHS Highland said that three people remain in Raigmore Hospital, Inverness, after falling ill, while three others have been discharged.
These news feeds are provided by an independent third party and Channel 4 is not responsible or liable to you for the same.
