16 Crewmen Injured, Two Dead and Two More Missing
A NORWEGIAN PASSENGER FERRY, THE MS NORDLYS HAS A FIRE that started in its engine room this morning while at sea. The vessel successfully made it to the nearby port of Alesund where the local fire department is working to put out the blaze.
NRK photo
Sixteen of the 55 crew members have been taken to the local hospital and early reports say that two others were killed and there may be two more that are missing or unaccounted for. The 207 passengers were all safely evacuated at the port and are being accommodated at local hotels.
Norway International Network is reporting:
Around 100 passengers were evacuated in the vessel’s lifeboats before the vessel managed to make its way into the west coast city of Ålesund with assistance from emergency vessels.
NRK
Other passengers and crew were taken off the vessel on improvised gangways from the vessel to the pier and later to a local hotel. Two persons injured in the fire also had been taken to land before the ship docked, Hurtigruten spokesman Ragnar Nordrum told Norwegian Broadcasting (NRK). Three more injuries were later confirmed and by noon the total number of injured was set at 12. By 1pm the number of injured had risen to 16. All were being treated at Ålesund Sjukehus, the local hospital.
The fatalities were confirmed after emergency crews were able to start searching the ship when it docked. The search was still going on Thursday afternoon.
The fire crippled the steering control of the ship, but a rescue craft came alongside and steered the ship into the quay where it was docked. A citizen captured this video of the Nordlys being directed into port with the heavy smoke coming from the blazing engine room:
As she arrived at the pier, fire trucks and ambulances were already staged and waiting to go into fire and rescue activities. The fire continued to burn after Nordlys docked, filling the entire downtown area with smoke.
NRK photos
NIN has the early report (in English) HERE.
NRK (Norwegian Broadcasting) has more along with a photo gallery and several more videos HERE (Norwegian language entry).
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Additional videos showing fire and rescue activities at the pier:
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The ship looks like a cruise liner, but it is more correctly described as a passenger ferry. It is part of a fleet that sails a coastal route from Bergen to Kirkenes making dozens of stops along the way for passengers to get on and off like a transit bus on a six-day route.
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