ATHENS, Greece — Greek and Cypriot officials say 26-foot waves have crashed into a cruise ship with nearly 2,000 people on board off France, smashing glass windshields and killing two passengers.
Another six people suffered light injuries, a Greek coast guard statement says.

It says the accident occurred near the French Mediterranean port of Marseilles on Wednesday as the Cypriot-owned Louis Majesty was sailing from Barcelona to Genoa in Italy with 1,350 passengers and 580 crew.

The victims were only identified as a German and an Italian man.

Louis Cruise Lines spokesman Michael Maratheftis said the ship was hit by three “abnormally high” waves up to 8 meters high that broke glass windshields in the forward section. It is heading back to Barcelona.

On satellite imagery, it shows a fairly strong area of low pressure (at least as low as 998 millibars) and its attached cold front vigorously sweeping through the northwest Mediterranean Sea on Wednesday.

As the article states, the ship was making a voyage from Barcelona, Spain to Genoa, Italy.

The cold front likely triggered intense rain and thunderstorms with winds possibly reaching close to or even exceeding severe levels.
 

– WEATHER.COM