Passengers on cruise ship rescued by airlift off Florida coast as Hurricane Milton approaches

Dramatic images captured sick passengers being evacuated off a luxury cruise ship in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean as the large vessel was “stranded miles” off Florida’s coast waiting out Hurricane Milton’s wrath.

The Sun Princess was forced to turn around before it could dock at Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. ahead of its grand arrival to its “winter homeport.”

With the “dangerous” Category 5 hurricane barreling down on Florida’s west coast, the east side of the state is preparing for the storm to make its way to the Atlantic Coast.

In preparation, the US Coast Guard raised Port Everglades to “Port Condition YANKEE” on Monday, alerting that gale force winds were expected within 24 hours.

Unfortunately for the vacationers, the brand-new boat couldn’t get to its destination as all docked vessels were forced to leave the port, and inbound ships were prohibited from entering.

“Due to the hurricane, Port Everglades – where the ship would stop – is closed and the ship is stranded five miles off the coast of Florida for the storm,” Ben Barry told SWNS.

The ailing travelers aboard the Sun Princess were flown back to the mainland US, but it was not clear where they were taken to while the majority of the Florida peninsula is under evacuation and curfew orders.

The Sun Princess had embarked on a 25-day, one-way trip from Barcelona, Spain to Fort Lauderdale, Florida on Sept. 14 and was scheduled to land at port on Oct. 9.

The ship is currently in the waters between the Bahamas and Cuba, according to CruiseMapper.

The Post has reached out to Princess Cruises.

Hurricane Milton remained a Category 5 storm as it stormed towards the west-central coast of Florida heading northeast at 12 mph.

Follow the latest from The Post on Hurricane Milton:

The storm, expected to make landfall late Wednesday, or early Thursday, could bring catastrophic storm surges up between 10 to 15 feet to some areas including Tampa, with 6 to 12 inches of rain expected.

It was located 300 miles away from Tampa as of 5 a.m. Wednesday, according to the National Hurricane Center.

Milton gained strength on Tuesday after weakening slightly from one of the most powerful Category 5 storms on record. By the evening, winds picked up to 160 mph, returning the storm to Category 5 force.

Officials have pleaded and warned residents in evacuation zones to leave.

“If you choose to stay … you are going to die,” Tampa Mayor Jane Castor bluntly told CNN, adding that a “literally catastrophic” major hurricane was barreling toward the Sunshine State.

Despite the warning, 80-year-old Charlotte Farrell in Ruskin off of Cockroach Bay told The Post that she isn’t going anywhere.

“Everyone says I should go to a shelter for this one, my son says I need to. I haven’t decided yet. I’m not leaving town, this is my home. But I can decide to go to the middle school later if I want shelter there,” she said, referring to Shields Middle School, which has been designated as a shelter.

“The police went door to door yesterday telling us that we should get out, mostly because this is a trailer and we’re in a flood zone. They said it’s mandatory, but if we don’t, we’re responsible for what happens to us.”