Angry pensioners reveal how they fought off attack on cruiseship MSC Melody armed only with furniture.
Who needs guns and water cannon to repel pirates when you've got a posse of angry pensioners armed with deckchairs?
Details of the extraordinary scrap on the 1,064-berth MSC Melody (built 1982) off Africa in April 2009 have come to light after a retired UK couple settled a legal claim with MSC Cruises.
John and Barbara Jeffrey were with a group socialising on deck late at night when they first spotted a small boat following their liner, then looked on in horror as a pirate attached a rope to a lower deck and began shinning up it.
The holidaymakers threw everything they could at the man and he finally fell into the sea when a German hit him with a flying deckchair.
That enraged the other raiders, who began firing machine guns at the cruiseship.
Mr Jeffrey, 65, from North Tyneside, told the Evening Chronicle newspaper: "They were still close to the ship at this point so they didn't have a great angle to hit us. I think they were trying to scare us off so they could try with another rope, but we stood our ground and continued throwing things at the boat.
"They then pulled away from the boat and started firing at us. I was amazed at how calm everyone was."
The couple took cover inside the ship but bullets ripped through its hull, and Mr Jeffrey, a retired builder, took a glancing blow from one and was more seriously injured by shrapnel from another. Crew members eventually saw off the pirates by using water hoses to thwart their attempts to swarm aboard.
A spokeswoman for MSC Cruises said: "Passengers' safety is always paramount to us and security procedures were well in place at the time to protect the passengers from the alleged risk of piracy.
Fuente: Tradewinds
"MSC can confirm that they did not and do not accept any legal
responsibility for the incident, which was unforeseeable as it has been the
first reported case of an attack to a passenger vessel. There was adequate
security present on board during Mr and Mrs Jeffery's cruise.
"The security personnel on board took all available steps including the
deployment of water hoses. There were a few passengers who observed the
incident and tried to throw deckchairs at the pirates. This was not
necessary and the situation was well under control by the vessel."
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