Cruise ship with 262 aboard evacuated off Norway after catching fire
A Norwegian cruise liner with 262 people on board was evacuated Thursday after it caught fire off Norway’s craggy western coast.
Police said 106 passengers were evacuated into lifeboats before the MS Nordlys reached the harbor at Alesund, 230 miles (375 kilometers) northwest of Oslo.
The remaining passengers and some crew left the vessel when it docked at port as smoke was still billowing from the burning ship. Some crew stayed on board to help put out the fire.
Six people were taken into hospital, at least two of them with serious burns and smoke injuries, hospital officials said.
Officials said the fire broke out in the ship’s engine room at 9:20 a.m. (0720 GMT), before it was due to arrive at Alesund. Police said they sealed off parts of Alesund because of the heavy smoke.
The MS Nordlys, operated by the Hurtigruten shipping line, was traveling north from Bergen. It is one of several ships that ply the Norwegian coast on the popular 1,500-mile (2,500- kilometer) cruise between Bergen in the southwest, to Kirkenes, high above the Arctic Circle near the Russian border.
The line carries both tourists eager to see the spectacular western coast and locals from coastal cities and hamlets.
Police said 106 passengers were evacuated into lifeboats before the MS Nordlys reached the harbor at Alesund, 230 miles (375 kilometers) northwest of Oslo.
The remaining passengers and some crew left the vessel when it docked at port as smoke was still billowing from the burning ship. Some crew stayed on board to help put out the fire.
Six people were taken into hospital, at least two of them with serious burns and smoke injuries, hospital officials said.
Officials said the fire broke out in the ship’s engine room at 9:20 a.m. (0720 GMT), before it was due to arrive at Alesund. Police said they sealed off parts of Alesund because of the heavy smoke.
The MS Nordlys, operated by the Hurtigruten shipping line, was traveling north from Bergen. It is one of several ships that ply the Norwegian coast on the popular 1,500-mile (2,500- kilometer) cruise between Bergen in the southwest, to Kirkenes, high above the Arctic Circle near the Russian border.
The line carries both tourists eager to see the spectacular western coast and locals from coastal cities and hamlets.