Rumors float of 'cursed' Queen Mary II

SOUTHAMPTON, England, Jan. 2 (UPI) -- Rumors that Cunard's new cruise ship Queen Mary II is jinxed escalated when two women with broken bones had to be evacuated from the ship off the British coast.

The apparent "curse" struck Thursday when the two women were injured as the $985 million vessel lay off the Devon coast, Edinburgh's The Scotsman reported.

Each was reported to have suffered broken bones during the world's biggest cruise ship's first "shake-down" trip before it takes paying passengers.

The first woman suffered a broken hip when she fell on the dance floor during Hogmanay celebrations New Year's eve, and the second woman broke a leg while embarking.

The ship's worst incident happened in November 2003, when 15 people were killed and more than 30 injured as a temporary gangway to the vessel collapsed at a French shipyard, sending workers and members of their families visiting the ship, plunging 50 feet to their deaths.

There were further delays during the summer, and then contract workers went on strike in protest at not being paid for six months. Despite this, the ship's owners say all 1,310 cabins have been booked for the maiden voyage to Fort Lauderdale, Fla., this month.