A cruise ship passenger was killed after a freak wave hit the British-based cruise ship MS Marco Polo as it made its way into the English Channel.

"One elderly passenger has died and a further passenger has been airlifted for further shore-side medical assistance," ship's owner, Cruise & Maritime Voyages said in a statement according to CNN.

The ship was heading from the Azores to its home port in Tilbury, England when it ran into rough seas. The ship was carrying 735 passengers and 349 crew members. Most of the passengers are British.

The BBC identified the victim as James Swinstead, 85, from Colchester in the UK. Another elderly woman was injured and had to be airlifted off the ship and taken to a hospital. A spokesman said the woman in her 70s has recovered from her injuries.

A large wave hit the side of the ship in the afternoon on Friday, February 14th, when many passengers were in one of the ship's restaurants. A passenger said that when the wave hit, the windows in the restaurant broke and people were injured. Passengers were asked to return to their rooms.

The ship docked back in Tilbury on Sunday. A number of inspections and investgiations were done after the incident. The Port Health Authority carried out an inspections and the cruise lines repairs the windows and flooded carpets. The ship was deemed fit to sail and departed on Sunday. Authorities from the ship's flag state, the Bahamas and the UK police conducted investigations.

"The authorities commenced their own independent investigations and boarded the vessel in Tilbury on Sunday morning. The Bahamas Flag Administration sent a marine surveyor to the ship to carry out an investigation which included interviewing the Master and the crew involved in the navigation of the vessel and its operation," CMV said in a statement according to Cruise Critic.

"The UK police interviewed the master and are conducting a separate investigation for the UK coroner. There was also attendance from the Port Health authority to inspect the vessel's health systems.

"These authorities have the power to detain the vessel had they been of the opinion following their inspection of the vessel that the company or the master had been in breach of their safety obligations during the bad weather incident or that the vessel should not sail or was in any way unseaworthy ... If there had been any issue regarding the vessel's ability to go to sea, then CMV would have not hesitated to have cancelled the next cruise."

The ship was on the last day of a 42-day cruise when the incident occurred. It departed on Sunday for a 14-night Northern Lights cruise to Norway, with 791 passengers onboard.