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Danish ferry fire put under control
Source: Agencies |
November 18, 2010, Thursday
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A fire on the car deck of a passenger ferry with 651 people on board set Scandinavian sea rescue authorities on high alert yesterday, but they said the situation was under control and no evacuations were needed.
The Pearl of Scandinavia was headed from Oslo to Copenhagen when authorities received reports of smoke billowing from the car deck.
Swedish and Danish rescue units responded to the ship, which was about five kilometers off Sweden's west coast, and were standing by to bring people off the ship if needed.
However, ferry operator DFDS said that the fire was put out and no evacuations were needed.
"There are no reports of injuries," DFDS spokeswoman Vivian Sivertsen said. "The ship is now heading toward Copenhagen without assistance."
"Everything is under control," Copenhagen police spokesman Lars Borg said.
Sivertsen said all passengers were evacuated from their cabins when the fire started around 6 am (0500GMT) and gathered in restaurants on one of the upper decks. The cause of the fire was not immediately clear.
DFDS said the ferry carried 490 passengers, 161 crew members, 23 cars and one bus.
"Three cars on the car deck are burned out," Borg said.
The cause of the fire was not known, but Danish navy spokesman Klaus Rehkopff said it could be that the ferry's own fire extinction system itself that had put off the blaze.
It was the second fire to hit the DFDS shipping company in as many months.
In October, a blaze wrecked the Lithuanian-flagged Lisco Gloria ferry in the Baltic Sea, forcing the safe evacuation of the 236 people aboard. The fire was believed due to an accidental explosion on its upper deck.
The Pearl of Scandinavia was headed from Oslo to Copenhagen when authorities received reports of smoke billowing from the car deck.
Swedish and Danish rescue units responded to the ship, which was about five kilometers off Sweden's west coast, and were standing by to bring people off the ship if needed.
However, ferry operator DFDS said that the fire was put out and no evacuations were needed.
"There are no reports of injuries," DFDS spokeswoman Vivian Sivertsen said. "The ship is now heading toward Copenhagen without assistance."
"Everything is under control," Copenhagen police spokesman Lars Borg said.
Sivertsen said all passengers were evacuated from their cabins when the fire started around 6 am (0500GMT) and gathered in restaurants on one of the upper decks. The cause of the fire was not immediately clear.
DFDS said the ferry carried 490 passengers, 161 crew members, 23 cars and one bus.
"Three cars on the car deck are burned out," Borg said.
The cause of the fire was not known, but Danish navy spokesman Klaus Rehkopff said it could be that the ferry's own fire extinction system itself that had put off the blaze.
It was the second fire to hit the DFDS shipping company in as many months.
In October, a blaze wrecked the Lithuanian-flagged Lisco Gloria ferry in the Baltic Sea, forcing the safe evacuation of the 236 people aboard. The fire was believed due to an accidental explosion on its upper deck.
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