(CNN) Rescuers are scrambling to rescue about 1,300 passengers and crew from a cruise ship off Norway that suffered an engine failure, emergency officials said Saturday.

The Viking Sky ship sent a distress signal Saturday due to "engine problems in bad weather," said Borghild Eldoen, a spokeswoman for the Joint Rescue Centre for Southern Norway.

The vessel is in rough seas in the Hustadvika area on the western coast of Norway and rescuers are facing waves of about 6-8 meters (roughly 19-26 feet) high, she said.

Helicopters airlifted passengers and crew members one by one Saturday and the process could continue overnight and through Sunday.

"We can't say how long it would take," Eldoen said.

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