Pictures show carnage as P&O ferry ‘almost capsized’ in stormy Irish Sea and lorries were tossed around the deck

SHOCKING images show the carnage on board a packed P&O ferry that "nearly capsized" in the stormy Irish Sea this morning.

Passengers feared for their lives as whole lorries toppled over during a terrifying crossing between Northern Ireland and Scotland.

13

Witnesses described scenes of chaos as the sea "opened up" and nearly swallowed the giant ferry "nose first" at around 7:30am on Tuesday.

Those on board watched in horror as at least size freighters tipped over and cars were crushed.

Bolted furniture ripped from the walls amid the sheer force of the storm as the vessel tried to plough through the rocky sea.

And dramatic footage shows the scale of destruction caused by the trucks overturning in the gale-force gusts.

13

13

13

One witness said: "The sea just opened and the boat went nose first into it."

There were initial fears that people may have been thrown overboard as emergency services rushed to Cairnryan port, near Stranraer on a mayday call.

All 52 passengers and 56 crew on board were later accounted for and there were no serious injuries.

Operators P&O are now facing questions over why the vessel - named the European Causeway - was given the green light to travel in extreme weather.

13

13

13

It’s understood rivals Stena Line cancelled a sailing during 65mph winds over safety concerns.

Emergency services raced to the scene at Cairnryan Port around 7.40am this morning.

Dad-of-five Dave - who was stuck on the ferry for over 12 hours - thought "this is it" as he described the horrific moment he thought the boat had gone down.

He told the : “At one point, the boat went down to so far, we didn’t think it was going to come back up.

“It felt like it had gone too far.

“For a split second, I thought ‘this is it, what will happen will happen’ but thankfully it came back up.

“It is scary to hell to think about it."

13

13

Damage includes cars being crushed along with benches and vending machines being thrown to the floor.

Some lorries fell on top of cars flattening them and launching shattered glass all over the deck.

The large trucks, lorries, and cars collided after the ferry was pushed around by severe weather.

Motorists were trapped inside their cars during the commotion but no one was seriously hurt.

Britain was on flood alert today as 70mph winds and torrential rain battered large parts of the country.

A Dumfries and Galloway council spokesman said: "During choppy sailing, there has been a movement of vehicles on the car deck and this has caused around 6 vehicles to tip over onto their side.

13

13

13

"Due to the movement on the deck, there are a number of passengers confined to vehicles."

P&O Ferries said in a statement: ";We can confirm that an incident took place on the European Causeway this morning.

"In extreme weather conditions, a number of vehicles have moved position on the decks causing damage onboard.

"All passengers and crew are safely accounted for, there are no reports of injuries and the emergency services are in attendance."

13

A Police Scotland spokesman said: "At 7.42am this morning Police Scotland received reports that a number of vehicles had overturned on the P&O European Causeway ferry while sailing from Larne to Cairnryan.

"A number of passengers were reported unaccounted for at that time.

"We have since been able to confirm that all 52 passengers and 56 crew on board are safe and well."

We pay for your stories! Do you have a story for The Sun Online news team? Email us at tips@the-sun.co.uk or call 0207 782 4368. You can WhatsApp us on 07810 791 502. We pay for videos too. Click here to upload yours.